Please
by Joelle8
Summary: Takes place after "The Black Circle". What would you do if you loved someone who you had deeply hurt? If you're Ian Kabra, then you and your sister will follow her and her brother on a race spanning countries, with Clues, adventure, and of course, romance
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It started out like a normal summer day in Spain- clear blue skies, not the slightest breeze, and as hot as blazes. Amy, who was sleeping in the bed next to the window in her, Nellie, and Dan's hotel room, woke up to the sun just beginning to peek out from behind the clouds. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. It had been a relatively sleepless night, but as usual, Dan and Nellie- and even Saladin!- were still fast asleep. Amy looked over at her little brother, and didn't bother to try to suppress the grin that she always got when she saw at him sleeping. He always looked so _peaceful_- like he didn't have a single worry in the world.

Amy got out of bed and walked into the sitting area of the suite, contemplating what she, Dan and Nellie should do here in Spain. They had come here after finding a hint that suggested that a clue was in Spain on a painting by Francisco Goya- a Janus, understandably- that she and her brother had stolen from right under Jonah Wizard's nose! The memory of Jonah's face when he had found out that Amy and Dan- who were, in his words, "plain ol' orphans, dawg, nothin' more"- had tricked him and stolen the painting had been priceless.

Blocking out this thought to focus on more important matters, Amy started thinking about the hint again. It had been in the form of a Haiku:

_One girl, two paintings-_

_Search out the differences_

_To find what you seek._

Dan had been the one to discover what the hint meant- he had gone online and found a website with famous works of art by Francisco Goya, and had discovered La Maja Vestida and La Maja Desnuda- the same girl was in both paintings, but in one painting she was clothed; in the other she was not. So their team had set off to Madrid, Spain, where the famous paintings were on exhibit. But that was as far as they had gotten- as of now. They were going to go to the exhibit today, so who knew what they would find?

Amy sighed, and then yawned. _Oh well- maybe I'll try to sleep a bit longer!_ She decided, walking back to her bed and lying down on it with a soft thud.

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**_Readers-_**

**_I'm sorry that my chapters are all pretty short, with a few exceptions. Because of this, I'm going to post two chapters at once whenever I post, except for the few chapters that are long enough to be submitted on their own. For example, I not only posted this chapter- I also posted chapter 2 (so please read it!!! Please please please!!!). Anyhow, I hope that you like this story so far! It gets juicier, I guarantee you (if you read the next chapter- and all the other ones that I'll post!- then you'll agree with me!!!)! Keep reading! Please review! I'll try to post more chapters soon!_**

**_Thanks for reading! This is my first story on here- I'm so excited!_**

**_-Joelle8_**

**_P.S. Disclaimer: I don't the 39 Clues, any of the characters, People magazine (next chapter), La Maja Vestida, La Maja Desnuda, or anything in Spain! As much as I wish I did!_**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ian and Natalie had tailed the Cahills ever since they had boarded the flight to Spain. After Amy and Dan had escaped a _Lucian Black Circle_- a feat that no one was supposed to be able to do- their parents had given them strict orders to make sure that nothing like that ever happened again, and that Ian and Natalie were to follow them to make sure.

Natalie flipped through her _People _magazine lazily. _Why did they never have any articles about her family anymore?!_ She fumed silently. Of course, she knew the answer: the Clue Hunt. That was all anybody in her family concentrated on these days- laying low, so they could search in peace. It annoyed Natalie to death, but there was nothing she could do about it- she may be a high-ranking agent, and the daughter of the Lucian Branch Leaders, but she was still only 11. And the younger you are, she had discovered, the less people listen to you.

Natalie looked over at her brother- as usual, he was just sitting and thinking. He had the rare ability to be able to just sit and think when there was nothing else to do, and be perfectly content with doing just that. In truth, Natalie envied it. She felt as if she always had to do something. It made her life feel quite hectic.

But Ian had been thinking about different things lately than he had before- before Korea. Before the incident involving Amy and Dan in Korea, Ian had been all about tactics- you could always see the clever gleam in his eyes, the mysterious smirk, the cool confidence that his plans would succeed, on his face when he was thinking about them. Now his expression changed from dreamy to sad to hopeful to guilty to upset to worry to resentful whenever he sat and thought, and Natalie knew why. Her brother had fallen for Amy Cahill back in Korea, and had been regretting leaving her in the cave. Natalie felt sorry for her brother- his mind was in a state of turmoil, she knew, having to choose between the girl he loved and his family, his branch, and his duties. In truth, Natalie had no clue why her brother had fallen for the orphan girl- but that didn't matter.

All that mattered was that Natalie would have to keep her brother in check, and make sure that his foolish feelings didn't cloud his judgment. She wasn't planning to tell on him- she knew that Ian would most likely murder her, or at least with words- and she thought that this might turn out comical. In truth, Natalie couldn't wait to see the results.

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**_As I promised- two chapters at once! Again, they're short, and I'm sorry! Please review!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Despite my saying that I'd post two chapters, instead I just made the chapters longer by combining them, because short chapters were pretty annoying for me. There will be less chapters, but, oh well! I hope you like this new chapter! Please review and tell me what you think when you're done! Thanks to everyone who left reviews before! Advice is appreciated!_**

**_P.S. In case you haven't already noticed, anytime that any writing in my story is bold and in italics- like this writing- it means that it's an author's note, and NOT part of the actual story!_**

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Chapter 3

"Amy, wake up!"

"Open the lids, kiddo!"

Finally, Amy woke up. Dan breathed a sigh of relief. It was 10:00 A.M., and he, Amy and Nellie had arranged to go on the 10:30 tour in the Prado Museum to see the La Maja paintings.

"Wha… what time is it?" Amy asked sleepily.

"Let's just say that you have 30 minutes to do all your hygienic stuff, dress, and grab a cab with us to Prado," Nellie spoke frankly.

"Oh, crap!" Amy shot out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, grabbing a shirt, shorts, and underwear as she ran. 15 minutes later, Amy rushed back out, fully dressed, and with brushed teeth and hair, looking barely presentable enough to go out in public, but still, presentable enough.

"You're _finally _ready," Dan observed, standing up from the couch in the sitting area. "C'mon, we have to go!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Amy hurriedly put on a pair of athletic sandals, grabbed her backpack with the picture of her and Dan's parents and all of their money, and shot out the door. Nellie and Dan followed suit.

Seven minutes later, they were dropped off by a cab in the parking lot at the Prado Museum. Amy could've appreciated the sight of the fantastic building for days, but unfortunately, she didn't even have minutes. She, Dan and Nellie rushed inside, paid for their entrance tickets (fortunately, there was no line, and the service was quick), and joined the tour group as it was passing by the ticket counter.

In unison, they all breathed a sigh of relief. They had made it.

***

Ian couldn't deny that his heart fluttered when he saw Amy through the window of his Porsche. Though she looked rushed and frazzled, and was clearly in a rush to get into the museum, she still looked-

_Stop it, Ian. _The ever-practical Lucian inside of Ian's head told him. _She's not lovely. She's your enemy. You hate her. You cannot, under any circumstances, have any feelings for her besides that. _

Ian sighed. He knew that the voice in his head was right- it had never been anything but that.

But Ian's heart kept trying to tell him a different message…

_Stop it, Ian! _

Ian frowned. That voice was really getting on his nerves now.

He remembered the flight to Kyrgyzstan, and how awful it had been… right after he had left Amy to die in a cave…

_"You were fantastic, Ian," Natalie had complimented him on the flight. "Amy was putty in your hands… Did you see her face when we closed them in? Classic!" She had laughed, and Ian had felt a flash of rage towards his sister. Ever since he had closed the cave, Ian had been thinking about Amy… if she was alright… if she would make it of the cave out alive … if she would make it out of the cave at all… if there was the slightest possibility of her someday forgiving him… if she'd ever lo-_

Stop it.

_Ah, that oh-so familiar voice…_

Stop it, Ian. It's over. You don't love her. You never have, and you never will, and she probably hates you now anyways. Let everything go back to the way it was before- you both hating each other. It really is that simple: You. Can. NOT. Love. Amy. Cahill.

_But, alas… by then, it had already been too late._

The memory left Ian as quickly as it had come. He sighed, his mind as confused as ever- that was happening more and more often during what he called his Thinking Sessions.

Deep down, Ian knew what the truth was. He knew why the Lucian voice inside his head suddenly annoyed him so. He refused to admit it to anyone, including himself, but inside, he knew the awful, impossible truth…

He was in love with Amy Cahill.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"…And now we reach the La Maja exhibit. We have acquired both La Maja Vestida and La Maja Desnuda, by Francisco Goya. Please, refrain from crossing the black lines in front of the paintings," the tour guide explained as the art-lovers crowded closer to the paintings, each trying to get a better view of them than the person behind them.

"Man, this crowd stinks!" Dan complained. "Now we'll never get close enough to the paintings to look for the clue!"

"Quiet down, dweeb! We don't know who could be watching us!"

"People like _Ian Kabra_, you mean?" he said with a smirk.

Amy glared at her brother fiercely. Ian had pretended to like her, and then had broken her heart and left her to die in a cave. She had slowly- painfully slowly- gotten over him, though, and ever since she had told Dan that, he felt like it was perfectly alright to tease her about Ian.

But it wasn't. Because Amy wasn't honestly sure if she was over him or not yet.

"Yes, El Dweebo," Amy controlled her tone with some difficulty, "_exactly _like Ian _Cobra_." Amy called Ian by the nickname she and Dan had given the Kabras- _Cobras_. "The other competitors could be anywhere." Amy looked around wearily. Dan seemed to hear the truth in his sister's words, and he shut up, to Amy's relief.

"Hey, kiddos! Come up here! I got us spots in the front!" Nellie called. Amy and Dan instantly rushed up to where she was standing- directly in front of the black line.

"Wow, Nellie! You got us an awesome view of the paintings!" Amy exclaimed in slight disbelief.

"Well, when you go to as many outdoor concerts as I do, you learn how to get the best seats!" Nellie explained, obviously pleased at the compliment.

"OK, Dan, start looking for…" Amy trailed off once she looked over at Dan. He was looking at La Maja Desnuda with slight horror. _Oh, crap- the naked picture,_ Amy thought, smacking herself on the forehead. She took a deep breath, grabbed Dan's shoulders, and slowly turned him around to face her.

"Listen to me, Dan- don't look at La Maja Desnuda. I'll look at that one. You can look at the one where she's wearing clothes," Amy instructed him. Dan was slowly regaining his focus, horror evident in his expression.

"That… that… that…" Dan stared into face, and then finally shuddered back into focus. "That was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen," he whispered, finally being able to voice his thoughts. Then he turned to look at La Maja Vestida, with Nellie and Amy trying to suppress chuckles behind him.

Amy and Nellie turned to look at La Maja Desnuda. The detail was fascinating and beautiful… _even if Dan doesn't realize it yet_. Thought Amy. _How did she do it? _Amy wondered in awe, staring at the woman in the painting. _How did that woman bear being painted _naked_? Put on display like that? I can't even talk to Ian Kabra without feeling uncomfortable…_

Amy stopped her thoughts there. She wouldn't think about Ian. She had to concentrate on the painting.

But Dan left her no time to do that.

***

"Amy, look! I see something!" Dan was squinting at La Maja Vestida, thrilled by what he saw. Amy followed his gaze, but was confused- she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But then she looked harder, and gasped.

Under the woman's hip was a small teardrop-shape of a pinkish/white-ish color. If you weren't looking for it, then you'd pass it by with hardly a glance. But if you looked closely- _really _closely- you could see a wolf painted in a circle on the teardrop.

"A wolf- that's Janus, right?" Nellie asked, frowning. She was no good at remembering anything involving her au pairees' crazy family.

"Exactly. So we know that the key to the clue is in that teardrop-shape," Dan stated. "Now, the question is: how do we find out what the actual clue is?"

Amy's eyes had a glint in them that was all too familiar to Dan. "Aw, no, Amy… not a library!" he protested.

"It's not a library…"

"Seriously?_ You _don't want to go to a library?! Hallelujah, praise the Lord, it's a miracle!"

"…exactly," Amy concluded her sentence.

"Oh, so close!" Dan complained, snapping his fingers in an "Aw, man" gesture.

"The museum gift shop has some books of art in them. They should have some pictures of La Maja Vestida that we could get a better view of- maybe that could help," Amy suggested.

"Well, _I'm _gonna try something _much _cooler," Dan decided abruptly, creating an air of mystery.

"Oh, no, I'm not gonna like this…" Amy groaned.

"I'm going to cross the black line!"

"…and I was right!" Amy moaned. "Dan, do you know how much trouble you'll get in? They'll probably throw us out! I think we'd be safer if we just went to the store."

"But that's boring! Besides, the picture might be blurry!" Dan argued.

"Well, who said that you'll get a good view of the picture before you _get arrested_?!" Amy pointed out.

"I'm still gonna do it- I don't care what you say," Dan turned away from his sister. Amy had a murderous look on her face.

"Hey, kiddos, I have an idea!" Nellie piped up before Amy could retort. She had enjoyed the debates between the kids at first, but by now they had just gotten old. "How about Amy goes to the store to see what she can find, while Dan tries to get a closer look at the painting? I'll stay with Dan just in case we have some probs with the guards, and we'll meet each other outside the store eventually."

Dan and Amy looked at each other and had a silent conversation.

_You'll get in major trouble. You know that, right? _Amy inquired.

_Yep. I can't wait._

_How do you like Nellie's plan?_

_It's cool. It actually makes sense- pretty rare for Nellie!_

Amy smiled. _Okay, so it's a deal. I go to the store, you stay here._

_Deal._

"We're in," the siblings said in unison.

"Good," replied Nellie.

Amy turned to walk to the store. "Good luck, El Dweebo," she called out behind her.

"Ditto!" Amy heard him reply. Amy smiled, and walked confidently to the store.

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**_Hope you liked this latest chapter! Please review! I'm not going to update until I get at least three reviews this time! C'mon, people, YOU CAN DO IT! I know you can! ;-D_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Where do you suggest we look for the Cahill brats, brother?" Natalie asked Ian. They were inside the Prado Museum, still hot on the trail of Amy and Dan.

"I assure you, sister, I don't have the faintest idea. We must assume that they are looking at a painting, I suppose," Ian responded. He was itching to find Amy- just to see her, to be near her. He pushed his longings aside fiercely.

"Obviously they're looking at paintings, Ian! We're in an ART MUSEUM!" Natalie scolded her brother loudly and harshly. Quieting down, since she was attracting stares, she continued, "The question is, which one?"

Ian stared into space for a moment. What did he know about Amy? Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. "Amy loves books- perhaps the museum store has books of artists and artwork?"

"You have a point," Natalie mused thoughtfully. "One of us should go there. The other should scour the museum for them. We can keep in touch with our cell phones, if it comes to that. The question is, who shall go where?"

Ian shrugged, trying to act as if he didn't care where he went, even though he yearned to go to the store- he yearned to go anywhere Amy might be.

Natalie could tell her brother was trying to act nonchalant. She smirked in her head, and thought, _He obviously wants to go to the store; to anywhere Amy might be. Why not let him? What's the worst that could happen, really? Besides, this could be interesting… _"You go to the store, I'll look amongst the paintings," she decided. Joy glinted in Ian's eyes, then vanished as quickly as it had come.

"Fine," he replied, attempting to hide the excitement in his voice. "I will meet you back here, sister."

"Fine by me, brother." As the siblings turned their separate ways, Natalie, unable to resist the temptation, called back, "Brother?"

"Yes, Natalie?"

She smirked, "Good luck with finding _Amy_." She deliberately put stress on the girl's name. Then Natalie turned and walked away, this time without looking back.

After a moment, Ian did the same.

***

_For a museum store, this place has a lot of books! _Amy thought, staring at the wall of bookshelves. There seemed to be a biography of every famous artist to ever exist, at least two dozen books on the history of the museum itself, books about certain pieces of artwork, and at least 50 books that just had pictures of famous masterpieces.

She couldn't help feeling at ease here.

Amy scanned the sides of the books, looking for something about La Maja Vestida. On the third shelf, she found one: Francisco Goya and La Maja. She took it off the shelf and, not being able to see a place to sit down, sat on the floor in front of the shelf. She opened the book and instantly looked in the Table of Contents. _Ah- a chapter called "La Maya Vestida". Page 84. _Amy flipped the book to page 84, and was faced with a picture of La Maja Vestida, which had been minimized so that it would fit in the page- this only accented every detail. _Perfect. _Amy grinned at her luck.

Amy located the strange shape easily. The Janus crest was clearly visible to her- she had to assume that whoever else had looked at this book before her hadn't paid great attention to the picture, and therefore hadn't noticed it, or had just ignored the wolf. She stared closely at it. For some reason, the shape looked familiar to her, now that she could see it so clearly. It looked like a picture she had seen once…

"Acid rain!" She gasped aloud. She had seen a drawing of one artist's interpretation of acid rain in her science textbook, and it closely resembled this strange shape on the painting. However, there was still a difference in the two shapes. In the drawing of acid rain, the lines on the outside had been smooth, flawless. On the shape in the La Maja Vestida, one of the sides had small waves in it. Amy squinted at the edge again, trying to make out the waves. They didn't look quite like waves, now that she thought about it; they were too uneven, and the lines were too thin, even though they were curved…

"It's cursive writing!" Amy exclaimed to herself in a whisper. She looked even more closely at the edge. Very faintly, she could make out one letter: **t**. Amy looked closer, and found an "**e**" and an "**r**". Staring at the word even harder, Amy made out two more letters: an "**a**" and a "**w**". _Teraw? _Amy thought, puzzled. _Maybe it's some sort of code… _Amy was about to try to figure out what "teraw" was, when, out of the blue, she changed her mind: _I think I'll let Dan do this one… he'll kill me if I discover a clue without him! Especially when it involves code-breaking!_

Amy turned around and put the book back on the shelf. She considered this mission a success. Satisfied, she stood up and began to walk towards the exit of the store.

She was so distracted by what "teraw" might be that she didn't even notice who she passed.

Amy stopped to look at a set of marbles in a small bag that said, "Prado Museum" on it. She knew how much Dan liked marbles; she had enough money, so why not get it for him, as a surprise?

Amy went over to stand in the check-out line. _This day is going so well,_ she thought.

She should have known that it could, and would, only get worse.

A strong hand was landed on her shoulder and gently gripped it, and a silky British voice that Amy knew all too well leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Hello, love."

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**_CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

**_So, how'd you like it? Thank to everyone who reviewed! Please keep it up!_**

**_OK, I need all of your opinion: I've written the Ian/Amy face-off to be two chapters after this one. Should I post both of those chapters at once, so that you won't have to wait too long for the confrontation, or should I post each of them one-at-a-time to build up suspense? It's your choice! Review with your choice by Friday, September 25- I'm going to try to post this Saturday!_**

**_Thanks for reading!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Well, readers, the votes are in, and I'm posting both chapters at once! I hope you're pleased! Please review!_**

**_-Joelle8_**

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Chapter 6

Dan was running, Nellie right in front of him. Two seconds after he had crossed the black line, guards had come to see what was going on. Dan had had to make a run for it- without even getting a chance to look at the Janus crest, or more importantly, the shape that the crest was inside. He hoped that Amy had at least found out something good.

"C'mon, Dan- in here!" Nellie pulled Dan through a doorway and into a courtyard. They waited silently for what seemed like hours- but when they finally felt that it was safe to leave, he saw on the clock that it had only been five minutes.

"We should get to the store," Dan whispered to Nellie, still weary of the guards. "Amy's probably waiting for us there." Nellie nodded in agreement, and they attempted to walk as inconspicuously as possible to the store.

"Good, we're here; now we can leave, once we get Amy," Dan sighed in relief, once Nellie had interpreted the Spanish sign that read "Prado Museum Store". He started to walk in and say "Amy," but all of the sudden, Nellie gasped and put her hand over his mouth, pulling him back outside of the store.

"Nellie, what the heck?!" Dan asked, outraged that his au pair would dare to put her hand over his mouth.

"Shh! Amy's not alone in there- if you had said her name, it would have attracted his attention!" Nellie put a finger to her lips, an urgent look in her eyes.

"Wait… _his _attention?" Dan gaped at Nellie. "No way. It couldn't be."

Nellie nodded soberly. "Look for yourself."

Dan peeked inside and there in the checkout line, right behind his sister, was none other than Ian Kabra.

Instantly, Dan gritted his teeth. He had an understandable urge to kill Ian. After all that he had done to Amy, he _dared _to try to talk to her? _Alone?_ Fighting the urge to release his ninja skills on Ian, he stepped back to where Nellie was.

Nellie seemed to understand the conflict inside Dan. "I wanna kill that dweeb, too, kiddo- but we can't. Not yet. We gotta wait for Amy."

Dan nodded. "Can we at least eavesdrop?" he asked after a moment, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Nellie grinned eagerly. "I wouldn't have it any other way!"

With that, they pressed their ears against the wall, and stood silently, not wanting to miss a thing.

*******

Natalie walked back to where she and Ian had agreed to meet. "Ian?" she asked nobody in particular. She looked around, but her brother was nowhere in sight.

_The store. _He was probably still there, staring at Amy, or something pathetic like that. Natalie sighed- oh, what she went through to bring people happiness! _I'll just go to the store and get him, and then we can _finally_ leave. _Satisfied with her plan, Natalie set off for the museum store.

_Too perfect! _Natalie cheered in her head. Not only had she successfully found the store, but there were Dan and his nanny, foolishly standing against the wall, in plain sight! It took all of her strength notto laugh out loud.

Natalie walked over them, and pulled out her dart guns. She had brought two guns today- she could shoot as well with her left hand as she could with her right, and she had thought that she might need to shoot two people at once. _The glory of planning ahead- another Lucian trait! _Natalie smiled smugly.

She was about to shoot Dan and the babysitter when Natalie realized that they were _listening _to something inside the store. Curiosity overtaking her, she did something completely out-of-character for her: She put her guns away. _For now, anyways, _Natalie amended in her head. Silently, she walked over to an area of the wall as far away from Dan and Norma, or whatever her name was, and pressed her ear against the wall.

Dan glanced out of the corner of his eye, and saw even more trouble. Natalie Kabra was his age, and she was his arch nemesis, just as Ian was Amy's arch nemesis. Only Natalie and Dan had never had a romance- Dan shuddered in horror at the mere thought of it.

Not wanting to stop Nellie from listening- she might have to fill him in later- Dan crept unnoticeably next to Natalie and whispered fiercely, disgust seeping through his words, "What are _you_ doing here?!" To his surprise, Natalie didn't even lift her head. Annoyed that he was being ignored, he asked again, slightly louder this time, "What are you doing here, _Cobra_?"

Natalie rolled her eyes and glared at him. "Could you shut it, Cahill? I'm trying to eavesdrop here!"

Dan tried to hide the surprise in his voice. He failed. "_You're _trying to listen in on Amy and Ian, too?"

"Well, duh- what else am I supposed to do? It's too good to miss!"

"For once I agree with you, Cobra," Dan said matter-of-factly.

"Then how about you go back over to your nanny and leave me alone! And don't worry, I won't shoot you until this is over!" Natalie growled.

"Anything to get away from you- and she's an _au pair_, not a nanny!" Dan strolled back to Nellie and pressed his ear against the wall again. He was still angry at Natalie- but that could wait for now.

Because Natalie was pretty darn right when she had said that this was too good to miss.


	7. Chapter 7

**_And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... THE IAN/AMY FACE OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you enjoy!_**

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Chapter 7

"I-I-I told you b-b-back in R-R-Russia n-n- not to call me l-l-love." Amy was stuttering uncontrollably, but she couldn't help it. She didn't turn around- she knew that looking into his deep, dark eyes would just make it harder to form a complete sentence.

"All I want to do is talk to you, Amy. Could you give me that? Just a matter of minutes," Ian pleaded. He knew that Amy stuttered when she was nervous- he didn't want to scare her. In fact, he wanted her to feel the complete opposite way about him- trusting. Loving. He feared that it may be too late for that, but he could at least try.

Amy contemplated his request for a moment. _He's a jerk. He's a heartbreaking, traitorous, murderous, evil, horrible jerk. You shouldn't listen to him, Amy. He probably just wants to try to kill you again._

But now there were witnesses. What could she really lose? If he tried to do something to her, all she had to do was scream, and she'd instantly get help. What was the worst that could happen?

_You'll get hurt again, Amy. That's the worst thing that could happen._

Amy processed this thought. Then, totally unsure of what she was about to do, she turned around slowly and looked up into Ian's eyes. They were full of hope, Amy realized- hope that she'd say yes. And a bit of guilt was there, too… and what was that? Was that…? _No, it couldn't be. You must've imagined that, _she told herself. Because it was impossible- absolutely, undeniably impossible- for Ian Kabra to have any feelings for her whatsoever.

Amy stared into Ian's eyes for another moment- they were sincere. He really only wanted to talk to her. She took a deep breath.

"Al-alright."

Ian smiled- she had said yes! _Maybe she'll even accept my apology! _But Ian knew that that was extremely unlikely. He tried to take her hand, but she immediately took it away, blushing. _Okay- no holding hands. I can deal with that. _Ian walked over to the wall that separated the store from the lobby. There was a small table there, along with two chairs. Immediately, he pulled out a chair for Amy to get in; instead, she sat in the opposite chair. Ian exhaled deeply. _This isn't going well at all. _He closed his eyes for a moment to regain his composure. When he opened them, no one would have been able to guess that he had just been rejected.

Neither of them spoke for a while. Finally, Ian cleared his throat and said, "I assume you want to know what I wish to speak about?"

Amy nodded, afraid the she would stutter uncontrollably again if she dared to try to speak.

"It's about what happened in Korea."

Amy took a deep breath. She had expected this. "I th-th-thought it might b-be."

It was Ian's turn to take a deep breath this time. "I suppose I should explain why I did what I did…"

"You _suppose_?" Amy's rage stopped her from stuttering even, causing Ian momentary shock. "You _suppose _you should tell me why you tried to lock me in a cave and leave me to die? You _suppose _that you should tell me why you betrayed me? You _suppose _that you should tell me _why you pretended to like me?!" _Amy was openly angry now, her voice rising with each sentence, her temper flaring. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and opened them again, now somewhat calmed, before continuing, softer now, "I-I just want to know why."

Ian didn't try to hide the resentment in his eyes. He regretted doing all of those things; even though he hadn't pretended to like Amy, he resented betraying her. He resented leaving her. With all of his heart. If she only knew…

"I regret what I did. All of it. You don't know how sorry I am," Ian spoke quietly, looking down at the table so he wouldn't show the hurt in his eyes, the weakness in his eyes.

Amy scoffed- did he really expect her to believe that? Especially when he wasn't even looking her in an attempt to hide his lying eyes? "Yeah, right. You're a liar."

Ian looked up at her. His eyes were pleading her to believe him. "Please, Amy. You have to believe me. I'm truly sorry. I'm sorry for shutting you in the cave. I'm sorry for leaving you. I'm sorry for betraying you. I'm sorry for tricking you. I'm sorry for all of it, Amy, I really am."

Part of Amy wanted to believe him. But she couldn't. Not yet. There was one thing he hadn't apologized for yet, and she would never forgive him until he did. "You're forgetting one of the things you need to apologize for." She looked down at the table, playing with her hands.

"And what might that be?"

"Apologize for pretending to like me," Amy said, looking straight into Ian's eyes- _Those beautiful dark eyes… _She shook her head, clearing away the thought. "Then, I might actually forgive you."

Ian felt helpless now; he should have seen this coming. He'd have to tell her the truth about how he felt towards her.

He just hoped that she'd believe him.

"I can't apologize for that," Ian stared into Amy's eyes. _Such beautiful, jade-green eyes…_

"And why is that? Is that the one thing you don't regret?" Amy's voice was stone-cold and unforgiving.

"No, it's not that at all!" Ian exclaimed. _She's getting the complete wrong idea… _he worried inwardly.

"Then why, Ian?" Amy's voice was still harsh. "Why did you-"

"Because I wasn't pretending!" Ian cut Amy off mid-sentence, frustrated by how badly the conversation was going, and met her shocked, disbelieving gaze. After a slight pause, he continued. "I love you, Amy." _Please believe me… Please forgive me… Please, love me back…_

"You aren't going to trick me that easily, Ian." Amy stood up and began to walk to the exit.

"Amy, wait!" Ian stood up and grabbed her wrist. "Please, you have to believe me!"

Amy turned around and glared at him so angrily it scared him. "You think that you can get any girl to do anything with you just because you're a Kabra. Well, let me tell you something: I'm different from all of those other girls, because I can see through your disguise. I know what you really are: a jerk. An evil, heartless jerk. So stop trying to trick me into trusting you again, so that you can just use me again, because it won't work. _Goodbye, _Ian _Cobra_!" Amy wrenched her wrist from his grip, and walked out, ignoring Ian's shocked, hurt face.

Amy didn't look back once.

She didn't want Ian to see her crying. Standing up to him, blurting out her thoughts, had taken every ounce of her courage.

_I hurt him, _Amy thought. _I really, truly hurt him. _Amy had seen the hurt in his eyes, his face- every part of him, when she had spoken so meanly to him.

_But he hurt me, _she reasoned. _He hurt me back in Korea, and he hurt me now, by pretending to love me when I know that he doesn't. That he couldn't. It's impossible._

Amy took a shuddering breath just before she walked outside. She assumed that Dan and Nellie would be there soon- she didn't want them to see her crying. Not over Ian. Not again.

She felt Nellie put her arm around her the moment she walked out of the store. Dan elbowed her, and shot me a tiny crooked grin, though it looked a bit more like a grimace. "You did good, sis." _They were eavesdropping on me! _Amy realized- but she wasn't angry. _Oh well- at least I won't have to explain it to them now. _Amy looked back at her brother and tried to smile back, but she was sure it looked more like a grimace.

"Hey, Amy- don't stay down. It's gonna be okay," Nellie's voice, suddenly full of aged wisdom, seemed to hug Amy warmly. Amy couldn't help but feel a sudden wave of love towards Nellie and Dan- they both knew that Amy still wasn't over Ian, that she had lied about being over him, and that she had been really mean to him, but they accepted her and loved her and tried their best to make her feel better anyway.

Amy looked back over to the store out of the corner of her eye and noticed Natalie staring at them- namely, her- in disbelief and anger. She was surprised that Natalie hadn't shot them already, but she looked as if she wasn't planning on it for once in her life. Amy turned her gaze away from her, and looked at her feet. Nellie and Dan put their arms around Amy's shoulders and led her out of the museum and to the parking lot to hail a cab.

During the cab ride, Dan, Nellie and Amy were silent. Amy remembered the hurt on Ian's face, the pain, when she had told him off. She banished the image from her head.

_Well, _she thought, _as they say: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth._

_We're even now._

In a sense, Amy knew that this was true. Ian had hurt Amy; and now, Amy had hurt Ian.

So why did she feel so awful?

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**_I understand if you hate me. But don't worry, the story's not over yet! I PROMISE that I am all for Ian and Amy getting together! I just think that, for once in his life, Ian should have to work for something he wants. Or, in this case, someone. Anyhow, I believe that he has to prove to Amy that he's worthy of her before she takes him back. Just my personal opinion. I hope you guys understand! Please review!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ian sat against the wall, in shock and heartbroken. _How could she not have believed me? _He had meant every word he had said; every word about loving her, every word about how sorry he was, every word about how much he wished he could turn back the clock to make it so that he hadn't betrayed her, so that she wouldn't have anything to forgive him for, so that neither of them would have ever felt this pain, this terrible pain of a heart being wrenched in half. Ian felt something wet run down his cheek, and he wiped it off and tasted it. It was salty. _Huh… a tear_. He hadn't cried since he was five years old and had started his Lucian training; he hadn't let himself cry, he _wouldn't_ let himself cry. But this time, he could do nothing to prevent silent tears from running down his cheeks.

Natalie walked over to her brother and examined his face closely. His eyes stared forward, but it didn't seem like they were seeing, as a few tears made their way down his face, past his mouth, which was tight-lipped in sorrow.

Natalie sat down, pulled out a gold-embroidered handkerchief, and held it in front of her brother's face. Ian looked over at her for a moment and took it, and Natalie saw everything he felt: angry, guilty, resentful, and most of all, unbelievably hurt and sad. Natalie hadn't thought that he could feel so much pain- that _anyone_ could show that much pain.

_Except Amy. Amy had shown that much pain when they had abandoned her, Dan and Alistair in the cave, _she remembered with a jolt.

The strange thing was, Natalie didn't care that Ian was crying about Amy, no matter how much she disapproved. She only cared that her brother was hurt- he was her brother, after all. She really _did _love him, even if she didn't let on.

"I'm so sorry, Ian," Natalie said, hugging her brother tightly. Ian's crying lessened a bit.

"You knew? And you didn't say anything?" Ian asked after a long moment, turning to face his sister, dumbstruck. _Finally, he was talking!_

"Of course I knew- I'm not stupid, you know. I can tell what's going on with you most of the time," Natalie answered. "And yes, I didn't say anything. I wanted to, believe me; but I didn't."

"Why not?"

"Partly, because I wanted to see how it would play out, and I apologize for that; it was insensitive of me, as much as I'm ashamed to admit it. But partly because you're my brother, Ian. I knew this was considered 'unfinished business' to you, and you _never _let business stay unfinished for long," Natalie explained, slyly grinning up at her brother. She had looked up to him for all of her life; he was her best friend, no matter how often they fought. Though she'd never admit that to anyone, of course.

Ian smiled and stood up. No one would have been able to guess that he had just been crying for the first time in nine years, and Natalie inwardly envied his skill in acting. "You know, you should show this side of you more often," he remarked as he helped his sister up.

"What side?"

"Your nice side," Ian commented. "It's really quite pleasant, you know." His eyes glinted with the enjoyment of teasing her.

"You won't spill my secret, will you? I don't want people to know that I can actually be human," Natalie replied playfully.

Ian laughed. _Finally, he's starting to feel like himself again,_ Natalie thought, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The siblings walked out of the store, with people glancing briefly at them as they walked. As they strode down the hallway of the museum, Natalie asked Ian the question that was prodding her brain. "Hey, Ian?"

"Yes, Natalie?"

"Do you still love Amy?" Natalie asked before she could stop herself.

Ian stopped walking and looked straight into Natalie's eyes. "Yes, Natalie. I still love her."

"But why? Why do you still love her after everything she said to you? After she broke your heart?"

"Because I know that I did the same to her. Besides, I can't just give up- whether or not she'll ever forgive me, or love me, ever again. It's not what Kabras do," Ian replied softly, pride in his voice when he spoke of his family. He gave a small smirk and said, "Come, let's get our Porsche."

Natalie linked her arm in his. He smiled down at her, and she grinned back.

_Yeah, _Natalie thought. _I really _do _have a nice side._

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**_So... how'd you like it? Please review! _**

**_And, by the way, I know that Ian and Natalie are kind of OOC in this chapter. I hope I didn't make them too OOC; I just wanted to show their nicer sides, especially with Natalie, because I honestly find it hard to believe that she can be so unfeeling towards her brother- her own _brother, _for crying out loud- all of the time. Anyhow, again, I hope you liked it!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Upon arriving to their hotel room, Amy had promptly gone into the bedroom, locked the door, and started crying.

Part of her still didn't believe Ian. How could he just come up to her out-of-the-blue and say "I love you"? Did he really expect her to believe it?

_No, but he told you anyways._

The look in his eyes- he had looked sincere, pleading… but there was something else there that Amy hadn't recognized at the time, because she had never before seen it in his eyes, and hadn't even imagined ever seeing it.

Tenderness. Love.

This made Amy cry all the harder. _He was telling the truth. _Amy sobbed more. _And part of me knew it, too. But I still hurt him. I still told him all of those awful things, because I was sure that my mind was tricking me. But it wasn't- it wasn't at all. He loves me._

_And I love him._

The tears kept coming. Amy knew that she still loved Ian; no matter how hard she had tried to forget about him, or how long she had told herself that she was over him. Despite everything, she was still in love with him.

But she knew that, even though she loved him, she couldn't forgive him. Not yet. It wasn't that easy. She loved him, but she was still hurt from what had happened in Korea. And from everything else he had done to her. It would take more than words to fix that.

Amy wiped her eyes and forced herself to stop crying. _Crying doesn't solve anything, Amy, _she told herself. Then she remembered something Grace had told her once, when she had hurt herself running, but was determined not to cry.

_We all need a good cry every once in a while, Amy, _Grace had told her. _Don't be afraid to cry._

Amy let the tears flow again, drenching the bed once more. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to have Grace by her side, comforting her. She wanted her mother. Her father. She missed all of them so much; she needed them. But they weren't there to help her, and they never would be ever again.

There was a knock on the door. "Can we come in?" Nellie asked.

"Sure," Amy called. Then, remembering that she had locked the door, she went over to open it.

"You okay, Ames?" Dan asked. He looked concerned. Amy couldn't help smiling to herself- she still had someone, even if she didn't have Grace, mom, or dad.

She'd always have Dan.

"I'm fine, Dan. I really am," Amy said.

"Good thing too, kiddo- because it looks like we would've had to get you new, dry bed sheets if you weren't!" Nellie joked, glancing at Amy's bed. Amy laughed. Nellie was good at making her feel better.

She'd always have Nellie, too.

_And Saladin, _Amy reminded herself as the Egyptian Mao weaved in and out of her legs.

She smiled to Nellie and Dan and hugged both of them, Saladin's fur still tickling her legs. Nellie hugged Amy back immediately, and for once, Dan did, too. She still had to talk to Dan.

"Dan, I got the clue. The letters are scrambled, though- I thought I'd let you figure them out. I know how much you love to," Amy teased playfully, feeling more like herself again already.

"What is it?" Dan asked eagerly automatically, almost jumping in excitement.

Amy grinned. She found a hotel notepad at her bedside and wrote the scrambled word: teraw.

"Oh, that's easy!" Dan scribbled a word under teraw, and Amy peeked over his shoulder to look at it.

The word Dan had written was "water".

"Dan, you're a genius!" Amy practically sang, hugging her little brother.

"You're just realizing that?" he retorted, grinning.

"You two are something else, you know that?" Nellie ruffled their hair out of the blue, but they didn't mind this time.

"You're forgiven for doing that- but just this once," Dan grumbled.

"Yeah- you better watch out, Nellie!" Amy added.

"Whatevs. C'mon, let's get some rest," Nellie suggested.

"Fine by me!" Amy and Dan said in unison.

They all went to sleep, not even bothering to change clothes. They were too exhausted from the day's events.

Lying in her bed, with Saladin curled up at her feet, Amy thought, _I'm sorry, Ian. I am._

_But I can't forgive you yet._

Amy turned on her side, closed her eyes, and swiftly sank into a happily dreamless sleep.

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**_Don't worry, readers, this isn't the end! But I need your help on something: should I continue this story, or write a sequel? The continuation of the story and the sequel would have the same content; it'd just be in different places. Please review, and say your answer! I hope you liked this latest update!_**

**_Oh, and by the way, I know that this chapter and the last were a bit shorter than usual (sorry, Music4Evah! I'm trying, I really am!), but I felt that they needed to be on their own. I don't care if you don't agree with me._**

**_-Joelle8_**

**_P.S. Sorry it took me longer than usual to update. My Bat Mitzvah's this weekend, and my mom put me on bedrest because I have the flu and she's paranoid. Yes, she is over protective. Yes, it drives me insane. I'll try to update sooner in the future!_**


	10. Chapter 10

Part 2

Chapter 10

Amy sighed as she heard the knock on her door accompanied by a slightly bored "Package for Amy Cahill!" that was becoming customary every morning. She yawned as she forced herself out of bed, trudging to the door. Rubbing her eyes so that she wouldn't look _too _much like the standard teenager-who-has-had-a-really-rough-night-and-wants-nothing-more-than-to-fall-back-asleep-and-for-everybody-else-in-the-world-to-go-away-so-nobody-would-disturb-her; even though that was exactly what she was, she drove herself off course from the door and went to the bathroom- a girl's got to go when a girl's got to go!

She reminisced the first package she had gotten. At first the gifts from Ian had been cute and sweet. They still were, in fact- he was so obviously in love with her, and not even trying to hide it anymore, that she couldn't help but feel flattered. After all, who _wouldn't _feel flattered if they had Ian Kabra sending you expensive, luxurious, beautiful gifts every day in a desperate plea for forgiveness and love? But still, Amy wouldn't let herself get sucked into Ian's desperate attempts for acceptance- she wouldn't be bought, she _couldn't _be bought.

Besides, she didn't even have a way of contacting him- she didn't even know how he was contacting her!

Well, they _were _both in London, after all- and with his Lucian technology, she honestly would've been surprised if he _hadn't _tracked her down. But, nonetheless, she had not expected the presents, no matter how much she liked them.

Finally done with her business in the bathroom, Amy walked to the door and opened it. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she said to the bellboy. He grimaced- Amy knew he just wanted to get this over with. She would, too, if she were him- which, luckily, she wasn't.

"Here's your package. Sign, please." The bellboy sighed, tapping his foot impatiently, holding out the package and a clipboard with the paper she was supposed to sign on it, along with a pen. Amy took the package and signed for it quickly. The bellboy was off before she could say "Thank you".

"Well, someone's in a pleasant mood today," Amy grumbled to herself under her breath sarcastically.

"Yes, I am, actually. Speaking of which, what's in the package?" Amy gave a little jump, startled that Nellie was awake- usually, at this hour, Nellie was fast asleep and snoring loud enough to wake up a herd of rhinoceros.

"What are you doing up already, Nellie?!" Amy exclaimed. She took a breath, calming herself down a bit. "I mean, I thought you usually sleep until 11! And it's only… oh." Amy looked over at the clock, which read 11:45. "Oh. Um, I- I forgot to check the time when I got up to go to the bathroom. Yeah, that's where I was just now, the bathroom, nothing suspicious or anything about that, is there?" Amy spluttered, speaking much faster than usual. _Drat, _she thought as Nellie raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

"I don't doubt that you were in the bathroom, Kiddo," Nellie said, to Amy's surprise. _Wow, I can't believe that she fell for the bathroom thing! _Amy thought. _Even I didn't fall for it! _"But that still doesn't explain that package you're holding." Nellie crossed her arms, waiting for an answer from her au pairee. _I knew it was too good to be true._

"Well… y-you see, Nellie… it's… well…" Amy stumbled and stuttered, trying without success to organize her thoughts and come up with a reasonable explanation for her having a package all of the sudden. As determined as she was to tell Nellie anything but the truth- Amy wanted this to be her little secret, and besides, she felt as though this was a private matter between her and Ian- each time she came up with some sort of explanation, it didn't make any sense whatsoever. Eventually, she sighed, and consented to tell Nellie what was really going on. "Well… it's like this…" Amy took a deep breath, just to get it over with, "EversincewegottoLondonIan'sbeensendingmegiftsandthisjusthappenstobeoneofthegiftsandI'msorryfornottellingyoubutIthoughtthiswasprivateandpleasedon'ttellDan!"

"Whoa, kiddo, hold your horses and take a breather! I think you just broke the world record for the most words spoken in one breath!" Nellie laughed as Amy panted slightly, out of breath. "Now, take a deep breath, and repeat- _slowly_ this time." Amy gave a tentative nod and began again.

"OK, it's like this, I guess that Ian's been tracking us or something, because ever since we got to London- his hometown- I've been getting daily presents from him. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before now, but I felt that it was a private matter between me and Ian. I hope you're not mad." Amy glanced up at Nellie nervously.

"He's been sending you gifts? That is _so _sweet!" Nellie nearly squealed, reminding Amy of the Theo days when Nellie had actually appeared as a girl. "What did he send you this time? Heck, what has he sent you the other times? We've been here for a week, so that's… seven presents so far! Seven presents from a freakishly rich dude! Amy, you're one lucky chick!"

Amy giggled, reprimanding herself for thinking Nellie wouldn't understand. _I should've told her a long time ago._ "Well, the first day he gave me a golden bracelet, then a diamond necklace, then silk scarf, then a bejeweled choker- I'm not quite sure what the exactly jewels are- and after that, a beautiful cashmere sweater, which was somehow exactly my size, and yesterday, a silver friendship ring."

"Oh!!!! That is soooooooo adorable!" Again, Amy had to laugh at her usually-punk au pair's sudden transfer to a gossiping girl. "So, what did he send you today?" Nellie continued. Amy laughed yet again; now, Nellie was so excited that she was practically bouncing on the bed like a six-year-old.

"I'm not sure, I haven't opened it yet," Amy said, giggling.

"Well, then what in the world are you waiting for, Amy?! OPEN IT ALREADY, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

"Okay, okay, okay, give it a rest, Nellie!" Amy exclaimed as Nellie continued her almost-bouncing. Nellie leaned forward eagerly as Amy opened the box. Slowly, and with a gasp of awe, Amy pulled out… a locket.

The locket was made of pure silver, and was quite simple except that in the center of the locket was an exquisite jade that had been molded into the shape of an upper-case calligraphic "A".

Upon seeing the locket, Nellie promptly regained her usual self (why at this particular time, nobody knows to this day) and said matter-of-factly, "Amy, that is the most beautiful piece of jewelry I've ever seen- and I've seen a lot of jewelry."

Amy could only nod. Everything else that Ian had sent her had been absolutely gorgeous, and she had loved all of them, but this locket… she couldn't think of a word to describe it. It was beautiful, yet ordinary. Elaborate, yet simple. Extravagant, yet plain.

It was perfect.

"Amy? Amy? AMY???" Nellie waved a hand in front of Amy's face, breaking off her train of thought about the gorgeous locket.

"Sorry, Nellie, I blanked out there. What were you saying?"

"I _said_, why don't you open it to see what's inside? Maybe there's a note or something!"

"You're right, Nellie; let's see, shall we?" Amy asked, her eyes glinting mischievously. Nellie pumped a fist in the air in triumph.

Amy gently fingered the clasp on the locket; it broke open easily, and a note fluttered out. Nellie, using the reflexes she had gained from the countless times she had gone to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and caught beads in the air, instantly snatched the note from the air and pulled it to herself, reading it swiftly.

"…Amy, you have to read this," Nellie said without looking up once she was done reading the note. Curiosity taking over all of her senses, Amy grabbed the note and began to read it:

_Dear Amy,_

_As soon as I saw this, I knew it was meant to be yours. It is beautiful, like you; your name begins with the letter 'A'; and the jade is the exact same color of your eyes, only it looks better on you._

_I still ask for your forgiveness. I want you to know that I regret everything I have ever done to hurt you, and I promise never to hurt you again. I promise to always be there for you if you need anybody, Amy- no matter what the circumstance, even if it's over a boy who is not myself, I will still be there for you. I want you to know that._

_Love- yes, love, even if you do not believe it,_

_Ian_

Amy wiped away the tears from her eyes and forced herself not to sob. This letter had to have been the sweetest thing ever given to her- to be honest, she hadn't known that Ian had it in him. His heartfelt words convinced Amy more than ever that she loved Ian, and deep inside, she wished that she could tell him this, so that he wouldn't feel so much pain on her behalf- for she knew that he felt pain over her rejection. At this moment, more than anything, she wanted to run into Ian's arms and tell him exactly how she felt about him, that she reciprocated his feelings for her, and that she would always be there for him, too.

Nellie seemed to understand how Amy was feeling, and put her arm around her. "Hey there, it's okay, kiddo- you'll be able to tell him someday."

"But what if he doesn't still love me by then? What if he's given up? What if he forgets about me?" Amy's voice cracked as she said the word "love," and she let a single tear run down her cheek.

"Kiddo, trust me on this: He. Is. Not. Going, To. Stop. Loving. You. Or. Any. Of. That. Other. Crap. You. Said. Ever. I mean, really, Amy- think about it- he's sent you all of these gifts, along with the note, and he confronted you about his feelings knowing that he would probably be rejected. That's love, Amy, and it's not going to end any time soon," Nellie gripped Amy's shoulders and turned her to face her as she spoke, forcing Amy to look her in the eye. Slowly, the tears stopped falling, and Amy was calm again.

"Thanks, Nellie," Amy grinned up at Nellie. She really was good at making Amy feel better.

"Anytime, kiddo. Now, how about we put away this locket before the maids can steal it, huh?" Nellie elbowed her playfully.

"Good point," Amy smiled, pulling out her small travel jewelry box. She gently lowered the locket into it, and the note along with it. Once the locket and the note were safe and sound, Amy locked the jewelry, hid the key once more, and buried the box back amongst her underwear.

"Great. Now that that's taken care of, how about we get some lunch and wake up Dan and Saladin- or maybe Saladin first, so he can walk on Dan and wake him up and we'd have less work to do. Yeah, let's do that. The less work, the better," Nellie mused, hands on her hips decisively.

"Fine by me," Amy agreed. Nellie walked over to Dan's room. Suddenly, Amy remembered something very important she had to tell Nellie about the letter and note.

"Nellie?"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Please don't tell Dan about this."

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**_Hey, everybody!_**

**_Well, as you can tell, I decided to just continue this story and make it a "Part 2". Thanks to everybody who voted on whether or not I should continue this tory or just make a sequel!_**

**_Sorry it took me so long to update- I've been super busy, my teachers have decided that they hate me and my classmates and therefore want to give us as much homework as possible. Grr. Anyhow, I know Nellie is a bit OOC in this, but it was really fun to write, and it just seemed appropriate to have a gossipy, girly friend to Amy in this situation! _**

**_I hope that you guys liked this latest chapter! Please review!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_Warning: one swear word! Sorry, people, but it was really the only word that sounded completely right in the situation! I tried others!_**

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Chapter 11

Ian paced in his room, his thoughts racing, his expression slightly pained and bewildered. _Has she gotten my gifts? _He couldn't help repeating this fear to himself over and over again as he strode back and forth from each wall in a room that would be impossibly big to anyone besides the Kabras. In fact, by Kabra standards, Ian's bedroom was considered _small_, which Ian never failed to consider an injustice. After all, as future Lucian Branch Leader, shouldn't he get one of the larger rooms? But his mind, as you can tell, was on other matters at the moment.

Natalie had assured him that all girls loved gifts more than anything. In truth, he still couldn't believe that not only was Natalie alright with his bring in love with Amy, but she was going as far as helping him attempt to win her heart. _I really underestimate her sometimes, _Ian thought to himself, knowing that it was true; his sister deserved far more credit than anyone ever gave her. After all, she was the one who had tracked Amy and Dan all the way to London, England, to the Abigail Adams Hotel. Why there was a hotel named after Abigail Adams in Europe, Ian didn't know and couldn't guess, but he assumed that the founders of the hotel admired the woman for her courage and intelligence. Even he had to admit that the United States of America's second First Lady was quite remarkable- _So much like Amy_, he thought.

Ian took a deep breath and sighed, collapsing onto his bed. _Will she ever forgive me? _He asked himself, sadness taking over his senses at the thought that the answer could be "No". Suddenly, a knock on his door interrupted his melancholy thoughts. Standing up and brushing off his clothes and smoothing down his hair so as not to look too frazzled, he called "Come in," and turned to face the door.

An extremely beautiful woman, who could easily cream any Miss Universe, walked gracefully into the room. She had long hair nearly down to her waist that was so black that when light shone on it, it gave off a blue shine, and in addition to this, the woman had large, innocent-looking, sparkling, intelligent chocolate eyes. So many complimentary words could be used to describe this woman's eyes that one became utterly confused and exasperated when trying to think of them all. When staring into those eyes, which were far too gorgeous to ever be called "brown", and seeing the flecks of black in them, one could always see the danger beneath her seemingly calm exterior and straight into the fact that this woman was not one to be messed with. Her porcelain skin was completely void of any blemishes whatsoever, and seemed to glow with health. The woman had a perfect, graceful figure, stood at 5 foot, 8 inches, and even at her age, could still be mistaken for a teenager.

"What is wrong, my son? You seem uneasy," Isabel Kabra asked Ian, her eyes portraying concern for her oldest child.

"I am fine, Mother, I assure you," Ian said. _She can always see right through me- I suppose that is just what mothers do. _He thought, internally a bit cross with himself about being so easy to read as his mother's still-concerned eyes clearly showed that she knew that her son was lying. However, being forever tactful, she chose not to mention it.

"Whatever you say, Ian," Isabel spoke, telling herself that he would confide in her when he felt ready…whenever that would be. "I assume that you are wondering why I am here to speak to you, are you not?"

"Indeed, Mother, I am," Ian said. "This was a trifle unexpected, as I was under the impression that you had important affairs to attend to with Father today, but it is under no circumstances unwelcome." Speaking formally, as was his custom when talking to his parents, he continued, "Would you please inform me why you are here now? I admit to being curious."

"You are always curious, Ian; you know that I know this. There is no need for you to state the obvious- but do not apologize, my son," she added, seeing that Ian was opening his mouth to apologize, "for it is a very small and unimportant matter. Now, on to why I must speak to you. You remember why you were called here, aside from the fact that you had to follow the Cahill children, I hope." At her mention of the Cahill children, Isabel noticed an excited spark light up her son's eyes for a moment before being quickly suppressed. _Could the Cahill children have something to do with how Ian has been acting lately? So worried and frazzled, and rushing off every morning? _She asked herself thoughtfully, promising herself that she would contemplate this matter further when there weren't more important matters at hand.

"Yes, Mother, I do remember; you and Father had discovered Madrigal activity in the area, and called Natalie and I here to assist you if need be," Ian nodded. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"We may have found a Madrigal stronghold," Ian's mother answered. Ian felt his eyes widening. _A Madrigal stronghold?! This is huge! None of the Branches have ever been able to find this big of a lead since the existence of the Madrigals was discovered! _He exclaimed excitedly in his head. He didn't realize that he had said this aloud until he heard his mother chuckle.

"Yes, Ian, it is a very big deal, and we need your and Natalie's help," Isabel proclaimed. It was far too easy to see how honored her son felt. She continued, "We need you and Natalie to try to break into the stronghold. You may use any and all spy tools available to you, and you are to try to harvest as much information as possible and bring it back to us. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do, and I accept my mission. When shall Natalie and I go?"

"As soon as you are ready. I have already told her about this; she's waiting for you in the library; I suggest you go down to her now and begin to plan your strategy."

"Of course, Mother; I whole-heartedly agree. But, Mother, where is it that you suspect the Madrigal stronghold is?"

"That hotel nearby, the Abigail Adams Hotel… Ian, are you alright?" Before her eyes, her son suddenly grew rigid, and fear consumed his features. _But Ian's never scared- not for himself, at least. Why is he so scared all of the sudden? What has changed?_

"Did you say the Abigail Adams Hotel?" Ian's voice was scarcely more than a whisper, and he was slowly paling so that he was very close to his mother's skin tone, which, considering he had inherited his father's cinnamon skin tone, was quite a hard feat to accomplish, and therefore had never happened before, greatly confusing Isabel.

"Yes, I did- Ian, what is wrong?" Isabel asked, but was drowned out by Ian's rant:

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!?!?! WE CAN'T JUST LET THE MADRIGALS HAVE A STRONGHOLD AT THAT HOTEL!!!!!!! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!!!!!!! THEY COULD HARM HER!!!!!!!" Ian's calm façade was instantly broken. After his latter statement, Ian stood with his mouth open in an "O" shape for a moment, cursing himself for saying far too much, before lowering himself onto his bed and slowly taking deep, soothing breaths.

Though she was shocked by her son's display of terror, Isabel couldn't help but feel slightly pleased that she had found out part of what was bothering Ian. "'Her'? Who is this 'her' you speak of, Ian?" she asked, tilting her head and arching her eyebrows in curiosity. _A girl, huh? I should have seen it sooner- now that I look at it, it's quite obvious. But who is the girl that my son has become so infatuated with? _

"Oh… um… it- it's nobody, Mother. In fact, you- you must have heard me wrong. I didn't say 'her'," Ian stuttered. _Damn you, mouth! _He scolded himself. _What happened to thinking before speaking?_

"Are you sure, darling?" Isabel couldn't help hoping that her son would finally decide to confide in her.

"Yes, Mother, I am sure." Isabel sighed inwardly in disappointment- _Oh, well. He will someday._ She told herself yet again.

"Very well, then. I will leave you to your devices then. Remember to meet with your sister," Isabel declared, walking towards the door of her son's bedroom to exit. Before leaving, though, she turned around and added, "You know that you can trust me, Ian; you can tell me anything. You are my son, and I will always love you, no matter the circumstances. I hope that you know that."

She turned around and was about to exit yet again when her son's voice stopped her in her tracks. "I know, Mother. And thank you." Isabel turned around to see her son smiling. It was a beautiful smile, she knew this was a fact, and was so much more delightful to look at than his customary smirk- it was a pity that he did not grin more often.

Responding with a smile of her own, Isabel wished herself "Good luck" before walking into the hallway and to her own bedroom- without stopping this time. Though only someone who knew her very well would be able to tell, Isabel Kabra was overjoyed that her son knew just how much she loved him, and that he could trust her with anything- it had always been her secret fear that he thought that she disliked him.

_Perhaps he'll tell me who this girl who has taken such a prominent place in his mind is, _she thought hopefully, grinning.

Though his mother's departing words had comforted him greatly and filled him with more confidence than usual, Ian was still unabashedly worried as he made his way to the library to talk with Natalie. However, he wasn't worried about he was going to do, even though what he was about to do had never been done before and was immensely life threatening- no, of course, he was only worried about his Amy. _No, not your Amy, _his sensible part corrected.

_Yet, _Ian's other voice countered, the voice that was devious, cunning, hopeful, and confident.

As Ian opened the door to the library, only one thought ran through his mind, one thought that continued to run through his head through his and Natalie's planning, their gathering of equipment, and their departure to the Abigail Adams Hotel through a route than Ian knew all too well by now:

_Amy's in trouble, whether she knows it or not. And I'm going to save her- whatever it takes._

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**_Hi, everybody!_**

**_First of all, sorry it took me so long to update- my computer has decided that it hates me, and only decided to forgive me today. GRR!!!! Second, again, sorry about the one swear word. Third, I hope you like this chapter! I really hope that Isabel Kabra is actually like this- sorry if I went a little overboard on her description, by the way, I just felt that such a beautiful woman deserved it. And being the mother of the gorgeous Ian and Natalie Kabra, she has to be beautiful. _**

**_Please review! I'd really appreciate it! I'll try to update sooner in the future!_**

**_-Joelle8_**

**_P.S. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! _**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Natalie and Ian walked nonchalantly through the streets of London. To random passerby, they cared about nothing and nobody, and radiated confidence, wealth, and class. To anyone who knew them personally, they seemed just plain fishy, as if they were up to something, something that wasn't necessarily all that good.

In this scenario, it was the people who knew the Kabra children personally who would be right. The Kabras, led by Ian, were making their way to the Abigail Adams Hotel, to carry out their mission and infiltrate the Madrigal headquarters.

_If we're lucky, _Natalie thought, inwardly grimacing at the mud staining her Prada sneakers, _then Mother and Father will have been mistaken, and there will be no Madrigal headquarters at the peasants' hotel after all. But then again, when have they ever been wrong about something as important as this before? _She sighed, and shifted her thoughts (so as not to focus on all of the negatives that could come out of this mission) by looking at her brother. He looked the same; he sounded the same; he smelled the same; from the outside, you could not tell there was anything different about him. But Natalie knew, if you knew him well and looked hard, you would see his usual cold demeanor crumbling with a sort of warmth, and gentle softness that was slowly overtaking his senses; Natalie knew this is what one would see, because this is what she herself saw when she gazed at her brother.

At one point in time, not at all long ago, she would have considered this a bad thing. At one point in time, she thought that Ian's hard exterior was strength, and that as long as he had that strength, all would be well. But now, as she stared up at him, she knew that was not the case. Before, she knew now, he had not been happy- content with his life, with his wealth and power, but not happy. Now he was happy- all because of the Cahill girl, who, not even a month earlier, her brother had been scoffing at and calling her a "stuttering idiot" with utter scorn and hate lacing venomously through his tones.

Perhaps that was why she was helping Ian win Amy's heart. She had often pondered why she was assisting her brother with someone she had such disdain for- after all, logically, shouldn't she want Ian to forget all about Amy? To go back to focusing only on Lucian matters, on the 39 clues? Yet, she didn't- and she was even going so far on giving him _advice_!

In that instant of thoughtfulness, Natalie knew why she was helping Ian: she cared about him. It was sappy, she knew, but she felt the same way for him that she had at that dreaded museum in Spain. She cared about her brother's happiness more than she cared about winning. Natalie inwardly gasped at this realization that so differed from her usual outlook on life, but still felt the gut feeling that told her she was thinking the truth. And, surprisingly enough, she was pleased by it- she had never thought of herself as pure evil, no matter what other people thought, no matter how she acted. She knew that there was something good under her own Cold, hard, Lucian shell.

She was glad that that shell had broken.

_He knows this path far too well, _Natalie thought, still looking at Ian, smiling. Her brother's familiarity with this route was evident; he knew where every rock to jump over lay, where every branch to lift up hung, and where every puddle lurked, just waiting for Natalie to accidentally ruin her expensive shoes in it. She could barely suppress a chuckle at this, but at the same time, admired her brother for his determination to accomplish his goal of earning Amy.

Natalie knew that he would succeed someday- that gut feeling of hers was telling her so. And she was happy that, when it happened, she would be able to say she had played a part in it.

Amy awoke with a sneaking suspicion that something big was going to happen that day. _But that's not possible,_ she frowned inwardly. _We're in London for some event in Nellie's family. Nothing that bad could happen at a family reunion, or whatever it is that Nellie's here for. She said she'd tell us on Saturday… Wait, what day is it, anyway? _Quickly, Amy turned on her phone and checked the date. Sure enough, at the bottom of her phone, it read "Sat." Excited by the prospect of finally learning why they were here in London, Amy practically bounced to Nellie's room when she bumped into something hard and smaller than her. Being her klutzy self, she automatically fell down, landing next to the other person.

"Good morning to you too, Amy," Dan grumbled, rolling his eyes and rubbing his shoulder. "Ah, how nice of you, to lovingly dislocated my shoulder," he continued sarcastically, fixing Amy with a playful glare.

Now it was Amy's turn to roll her eyes. "Please, Dan, it wasn't that hard of a collision. You didn't dislocate your shoulder, you bruised it at the worst, and you're being a drama queen."

Dan grinned at her at said, "Yep, that's me." Amy laughed, until he continued, "So would that make you the drama _king_? After all, we are brother and sister, and if I'm the queen…"

"Touché," Amy sighed, reluctantly surrendering. Dan beamed at his victory.

"I knew you would. Anyways, why were you bouncing to Nellie's room?"

"Remember, she said she'd tell us why we're here on Saturday?" Dan nodded, so Amy went on, "Well, it's Saturday!"

"Coolio!" Dan exclaimed. "C'mon, let's go drive her crazy!" He said enthusiastically before dashing into Nellie's room. Amy rolled her eyes once more- her brother seemed to make her do that a lot- before following him.

She found him jumping on a certain disgruntled au pair's bed, as the previously mentioned au pair sat up rubbing her eyes and moaning, "I'm up, I'm up, I'M UP!" Satisfied with his work, Dan leapt off the bed to stand beside his sister, who was nearly suffocating with laughter.

"Alright, dudes," Nellie faced Amy and Dan, looking every bit like she had just been woken up by someone jumping on her bed, "why did you interrupt my formerly-peaceful slumber?"

"Well, it's Saturday…" Amy started.

"And we want to know why we're here now," Dan finished.

"Oh, is that all? Care to tell me why you couldn't have waited half an hour to ask that?" Nellie asked incredulously.

Amy and Dan shrugged. "We're curious?" Amy offered.

Nellie rolled her eyes. "Shuolda known. But, there's nothing to do about it now- about thirty perfectly good minutes of sleep wasted, now that I'm wide awake!"

"Exactly, you're wide awake, so this would be a perfect time to tell us why we're in London!" Dan implored, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Eh, why not," Nellie shrugged. "Well, you know how we're here for a family event of mine?"

"Yeah," Amy and Dan answered in unison.

"Well, it's more of an extended-family event, and it's sort of a reunion, but it'll just be us and a handful of other people. Not my whole extended family, you know- that would be huge- just a few. I figure that, we're already traveling the world, so why not make one more stop, in one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world? I mean, I know it doesn't exactly help with your clue hunt, but…" Nellie trailed off, looking at Amy and Dan as if for permission to have dragged them to London.

Amy and Dan simultaneously beamed. "Are you kidding? You think you might mind that you brought us to London?!" Dan exclaimed.

"This is great, Nellie!" Amy gushed. "To be honest, the clue hunt was making me really stressed, and I'm SO glad for a break!"

Nellie sighed in relief. "Oh, good. Well, we're meeting them in the lobby in an hour," she said, looking over at the clock, which read 10:00, "so how about you guys get ready? Believe it or not, they're pretty high society. You don't have to dress any differently than you normally would, but you still have to make sure you don't look like you just got out of bed, either."

"As you wish, Captain!" Dan mock-saluted before running to his room.

Amy giggled at her brother's antics and said, "I think I'll go take a shower. See you, Nellie!" with a parting wave before exiting to the bathroom.

Watching her au pairees leave her room, Nellie felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She tried unsuccessfully to push it away. She cared about Amy and Dan, she really did; she was doing this for their own good. They deserved to know the truth. All of it.

But would they trust her after this? She knew, of course, what learning the truth would entail for them. Would Amy and Dan trust her after she took them to meet her "extended family"?

Sighing, Nellie sank into her bed. She hoped that she was doing the right thing. But, if she wasn't it was too late to back out now: "A Gomez never backs down," like her dad used to say.

Praying that everything would turn out alright, that her kids would trust her after today, that everything would go right today, that she wasn't making a huge mistake, Nellie closed her eyes and took a long, healthy, thirty-minute power nap.

* * *

**_I know, I know, I need to update sooner! In my defense, I had the busiest week of my life this past week!_**

**_Anyhow, I hope that you liked this newest chapter. I know it doesn't have much Ian in it- sorry about that, all you Ian lovers. I hope that you liked my look inside Natalie's mind. I wish she had a bit of good in her in the 39 Clues series, but, unfortunately, I highly doubt that she does, considering she idolizes her witch of a mother._**

**_Speaking of which, mind if I talk about the 6th book, In Too Deep, here? None of my friends at home read The 39 Clues, so I'm sort of going crazy here..._**

**_SPOILER ALERT:_**

**_1. Isabel Kabra is a downright witch-with-a-b, and I heartily wish for her death._**

**_2. I know that Isabel is a lying skank, but do you think that she was telling the truth about Ian having feelings for Amy? I mean, it would make sense if Isabel was jsut trying to use that claim to lure Amy, but here's what I think happened: Isabel thought she was lying about Ian having feelings for Amy, but it wasn't actually a lie at all. Don't you think that'd be smashing?_**

**_3. Irina is totally awesome. Words cannot describe how awesome she is in my mind now. I think she did the right thing in the end, and I'm really glad. _**

**_4. When Irina was thinking about Nikolai's death- about how she came home from her mission, waiting for him expectantly with a monkey- I wanted to sob my guts out, it was so dang sad._**

**_5. OK, I hate Natalie just as much as the next person, but she has skills! I never thought she'd be able to cause physical harm to Irina Spasky, of all people!_**

**_6. I'm disappointed in Nellie for being some sort of spy, but I honestly saw it coming- she kept being able to do too much stuff. But I think she really does care about Amy and Dan. I personally think that she's a Madrigal spy, and that she's been assigned to keep watch over Amy and Dan because they're Madrigals, too. :-D I mean, it does make sense, when you think about it. If Amy and Dan were one of the four branches, Grace shouldn't have any problem with telling them their branch- but she never did, so it means that they're not one of the four main branches! That's what I think, anyways; you all are entitled to your own opinions, of course._**

**_7. SHEP IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish he was my cousin..._**

**_SPOILERS OVER!_**

**_Thanks for listening to (actually, I guess it was technically reading) my opinions. Sorry if you don't care, but I had to get all of that out of my system. Please review, and feel free to share your thoughts on In Too Deep!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"I can't wait to meet your extended family, Nellie!" Dan exclaimed, literally bouncing in the elevator on the way down to the lobby. Amy chuckled; it had been a long time since her brother was this bubbly. It was a nice change of pace, in Amy's opinion.

Clearly, Nellie though Dan was being funny, too. "Dude, I haven't seen you this pepped up since… since… hey Amy, when was the last time Dan was this pepped?"

Amy thought a moment, and then grinned with suppressed laughter. "When they announced that they'd be making _Ninja Gaiden 3_, about a year or so ago." _It figures,_ Amy thought, chuckling to herself, _that one of Dan's happiest moments was due to a video game!_

The elevator dinged, and the square with an "LL" on it, for "Lobby Level", lit up. "Let's go, kiddos! We have extended family to meet!" Nellie was bouncing now, too, as she grabbed Amy and Dan and dragged them out of the elevator. Looking around, she seemed to spot who she was looking for. "FRANK! YO, FRANK! OVER HERE!" she shouted, drawing numerous stares to herself- but, not Frank's stare.

"Hey, Nellie?" Dan pulled on Nellie's sleeve.

"Yeah, dude?"

"I think your extended family's deaf."

"I wouldn't doubt it- but, that just means _we _have to go to _him_!" she exclaimed, walking towards Frank and pulling Amy and Dan along with her yet again, not seeming to realize that they were capable of walking by themselves.

Once they were besides Nellie's extended family member, Frank, Nellie let go of Amy and Dan and playfully slapped Frank on the shoulder. "You are _so deaf_!"

Frank turned around and grinned at Nellie, permitting Amy and Dan to finally see the man's face. He had curly brown hair that looked as if someone had attempted to tame it many times, and that someone had never won. His eyes were a shocking sky blue that Amy and Dan had never seen the likes of before, and his grin was broad, but didn't quite meet those eyes. All in all, a not-too-special appearance.

But the strange thing was, Amy and Dan recognized him. They looked over at each other while Nellie and Frank caught up, thinking similar things.

_He seems nice, _Amy conveyed to Dan through her eyes, _but he seems sort of… familiar._

_I know what you mean, _Dan replied. _I know I haven't seen his face before, but I recognize his stance, no matter how weird it sounds. _

_Same here. I don't know why I didn't see it back when Nellie was dragging us over to him! _Amy mentally slapped her obliviousness. _I also recognize this head shape, if that makes any sense._

_It doesn't. Wanna explain? Go ahead, I know you do._

Amy rolled her eyes before explaining what she meant to Dan. _What I mean, dweeb, is his stance is sort of… hard, and almost cold, right? Well, I feel like I've seen him standing before, from afar, and seen the outline of his head, but not any other part of him. Does it make sense now?_

_Yeah- now that you mention it, I recognize the dude's head, too. It's almost a rectangle! _Dan laughed.

_Yeah, it is. So, what do we do?_

_What do you mean?_

_Well, do we trust him, or not? You remember Mr. McIntyre's warning. "Trust no one."_

_But that was with Cahills! Frank probably isn't since he's a relative of Nellie, and she isn't a Cahill._

_I guess you're right. Let's just try to forget about it and have a fun da- wait, why are they looking at us expectantly?_

_They must've said something to us! Quick, think of something to say!_

"Oh, s-sorry," Amy said, turning away from her brother, "I z-zoned out. Would you mind repeating that?"

"Not at all," Frank smiled kindly, ignoring Amy's stutter, to her relief. "I just introduced myself. I'm Frank Callahan. I take it you're Amy?" Frank stuck out his hand in greeting.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Callahan." Amy shook his hand.

"Please, call me Frank," Frank smiled at Amy kindly again. By this point, Amy was convinced that she and Dan had made the right choice in trusting this man- how could someone so kind possibly do be a threat?

Frank turned to Dan and inquired, "You're Dan, I assume?"

"Yep. I'm the _cooler _Cahill sibling," Dan smiled and shook Frank's hand.

"Oh, please, Dweeb," Amy rolled her eyes. "You _wish _you were as cool as me!" she laughed. _Where's this confidence coming from? _Amy's shier, more dominant side asked. _I don't know, but I like it! _Her excited, happier side answered.

Frank laughed. "I see Nellie was right- you both are quite funny when you bicker. She's told me so much about you two."

"We expect it was good," Dan glared at Nellie playfully.

"Don't worry, kiddo," Nellie laughed, "_most_ of it was!"

"What do you mean by 'most'? Amy and I are as awesome as you can get! Or at least," Dan pretended to look deep in thought, "I am!"

"Gee, _thanks_, Dan," Amy said sarcastically. "This coming from someone an eleven-year-old who still wets the bed!"

Dan paled significantly as Nellie cracked up, Frank barely suppressed a chuckle, and Amy smirked. "I was sick!" he protested weakly.

"Sure you were, Dan, sure you were," Amy chuckled, loving the victorious feeling in her stomach.

Before Dan could retort, Frank said, "As amusing as this fighting is, I think it's time we get going."

Nellie checked her watch. "Oh yeah, it is! Frank can lead the wa- oh no," Nellie looked at the front doors of the lobby. Dan and Amy followed her gaze, only to have their eyes fall on none other than Ian and Natalie Kabra. Amy gulped.

Amy felt a hand fall on her shoulder. "You okay, Amy?" Nellie asked, clearly concerned by Amy's sudden pale complexion. Amy nodded, even though, in truth, she was anything _but _okay.

_Crap_, Amy thought. _Crap, crap, crap. What is he doing here? Oh wait, I bet he's here to drop off another gift. But this is supposed to be my no-Cahill-stuff day! And I don't want to face him- I don't think I can yet. Wait, scratch that, I _know _I can't yet._

"Hey, Frank, would you mind doing us a favor?" Nellie asked her friend, who looked a bit confused as to why two teenagers were so troubling.

"Of course not, what is it?"

"We need to get out of here, and fast," Nellie answered. "Do you know if there's some nearby closet or something we can go hide in?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Frank grinned. But there was something slightly different about this grin- it was less friendly, and more… scheming. The word "malicious" could also fit the description.

"Well, then, let's go!" Dan exclaimed; in his worry for his sister, he had missed the difference in Frank's smile, and only wanted to get out of there. "C'mon, Amy," he gripped his sister's hand, and they quickly followed Frank and Nellie through the vast sea of people at the hotel.

They stopped once they reached a painting at the end of a hallway off of the lobby that neither Nellie, Dan, or Amy had ever noticed before. The painting was taller than Frank, and about twice as wide. In the painting was a lavishly dressed woman, whose smile almost seemed smug, and her eyes had a certain sparkle in them that Amy and Dan couldn't place. _Oh well- it's just a painting, _they thought.

"Is that Abigail Adams?" Amy asked, finally regaining her voice now that they were out of the lobby.

"Yes- very fitting, considering this is the Abigail Adams Hotel, don't you think?" Frank responded. As Amy, Dan and Nellie watched, he slid his finger along a design that resembled an "M" in the center of the top of the picture frame, and, before their eyes, the painting opened, revealing a silver platform.

"Get on the platform- it's an elevator to the garage," Frank ushered Amy, Dan and Nellie inside before stepping in himself and closing the painting.

On the other side of the painting, there were two buttons: an "UP" button and a "DOWN" button. Frank pressed the "DOWN" button before anyone could say anything.

As the elevator smoothly made its way downstairs, Nellie turned towards Frank, scrutinizing him suspiciously. "Frank, what are you doing?"

"I'm taking you all out of the lobby, and away from the Kabra children," he replied.

"How did you know who they were?" Nellie asked. "We never said who they were, if I remember correctly. You've been acting weird this whole time- being so friendly, and open? It's not you. You've always been reserved and cold. What's going on, Frank? What aren't you telling us?"

By this point, Amy and Dan were regretting their decision to trust Frank.

After a moment of thought, Frank replied, looking down, "I'm a double agent, Nellie."

Nellie gasped. "Does Smith know?"

"Smith? That simpleton? Of course not!" Frank scoffed. "I'm the best agent in the field, Nellie- even _you've _said it. No, nobody suspects that I'm a double agent. I've done my work well." This time, the maliciousness in Frank's smile was far too evident to be ignored.

"I can't believe it, Frank," Nellie said quietly, shaking her head. "You, of all people? You were always my most trusted confidant! You were the only agent who ever sought to make me, the youngest agent in this history of the CIA, feel welcome!"

Amy and Dan's heads shot up, and they looked at each other in alarm, both thinking the same thing, but not daring to interrupt: _NELLIE'S A CIA AGENT?!?!_

"Of course I made you welcome, and made you trust me!" Frank exclaimed. "Not only were you an agent, you were playing nanny to these Cahill brats here! My _real _leader ordered me to find out as much as possible about those two. So, what better way to do it than to befriend their babysitter?"

"I'm not their babysitter, I'm their au pair! And who's this other master of yours, Frank? You're not a Cahill, so what could you possibly want with Amy and Dan?"

"Who said I'm not a Cahill?"

To this, Nellie had no response. Frank smirked triumphantly.

"That's right, Nellie, you don't have an answer, do you? You never suspected that I'd be a Cahill, because you trusted me too much, you foolish girl. You see? I've played my part well- _very _well. And who do you think convinced Smith to let you take a year off the field, a year of vacation, just a few weeks ago? That' right, me, because I knew about Grace Cahill's funeral, and I knew that Amy and Dan were starting the Clue Hunt, and dragging you along with them. I knew that if you went with them, I'd get a chance to meet up with you eventually, when you wanted to tell Amy and Dan the truth about yourself. I knew you too well, Nellie. So, I convinced Smith to let you go, and, of course, I was right-here I am, and here are you! And do you know what this means, Nellie? I _finally _accomplished my mission from my Branch Leader- I captured you. Or, more importantly, all three of you."

Nellie glared at him with such ferocity that Amy and Dan were surprised that Frank didn't shrivel up and die right then and there. "So, Traitor, what Branch are you from, then? Are you an evil Lucian? A crazy Janus? A stupid Tomas? Or maybe, a know-it-all Ekat? In my opinion, you could be all of them- you're obviously crazy and stupid, you've always been a know-it-all, and you're most certainly evil."

The elevator dinged, and Frank smirked, "Well, now that we're at the Headquarters, you'll see soon enough. I think I'll let it be a surprise."

"What makes you think we're getting out of this elevator?" Dan spoke up, trying his hardest to feel brave, and failing miserably.

"Well, Boy, I do have a shotgun," Frank pulled the small silver weapon out of a pocket in his jacket, "so I'd think that, if you value your life, you'd get out of this elevator _right now,_" Frank growled.

Dan could only gulp, nod, and step out of the elevator as quick as his feet could carry him. Amy followed suit. Nellie took her time, glaring at Frank viciously as she followed her au pairees. Frank smirked at their easy compliance and walked into the dark hallway.

The walls, floor, and ceiling of the hallway were all painted pitch black. The walls of the hallway were covered with obsidian doors with silver doorknobs. There was no light except for a few abnormally bright white light bulbs that were scattered every few yards along the center line of the ceiling. The one exception to this, however, was in the middle of the hallway on the ceiling. Looking up, Amy, Dan and Nellie gasped in slight awe and horror. There, above them, the white light bulbs made an "M" covered by a snow leopard, which was clearly this branch's crest.

Amy gulped as realization dawned on her. She stared at Frank for a moment and then exclaimed, eyes wide in terror, "You're the Man in Black!"

Frank whipped around and clapped lightly, a noise that sounded strange in this grim hallway. "Very good, very good, little girl, you finally figured _something _out."

"Wait," Dan said, looking thoughtful, "if you're the Man in Black… and this is your Branch headquarters…" Dan suddenly stopped talking, his eyes widening in fear. When he spoke again, his sister spoke in unison with him:

"We're in the headquarters of the Madrigals."

* * *

**_I know, I know, I took way too long to update yet again, please don't kill me!_**

**_So, what'd you think? You like? You don't like? Do you have any suggestions? Because I may need them- part of why it took me a little longer to update than usual was because I couldn't think of anything suitable to put in this chapter. Sorry about the lack of Ian and Natalie- I promise you, they'll be in the next chapter!_**

**_Please review! It's the only way I can get better!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

_This is one shabby hotel, _Ian thought, walking into the Abigail Adams Hotel. _All of the so-called 'gold' and 'crystal' are obviously fake! _He looked over at Natalie; she appeared to be thinking that same thing as him, as her face was contorted into a mixture of contempt and disgust, the same expression she always got when confronted by unstylish materials.

"What do we do now, Brother?" Natalie asked.

"We look for what anything that may be an entrance to the Madrigals headquarters, of course. Or, better yet, if we could identify a Madrigal here, then we could just follow them until they go to the headquarters," Ian replied, thinking hard.

"I vote we go wit the second plan," Natalie said. "If we snoop around here, somebody will suspect something. Whereas, if we sit and read- or at least appear to, as we will really be looking for Madrigals- nobody will suspect a thing."

Ian thought for a moment, and then nodded his agreement. His sister really did have good logic sometimes. He and Natalie made their way to the sitting area of the lobby, which was directly next to the front doors of the lobby, so that, if someone were to look there, they'd also see the sitting area. This also meant that the sitting area had a magnificent view of everything- and, more importantly, everyone- else in the lobby.

Walking towards a particularly squishy-looking chair, Ian suddenly stopped, seeing a flash on long reddish-brown hair whip around as its owner's head turned away from him. There, almost directly in his line of vision, was none other than Amy Cahill. Ian gulped; he was, indeed, madly in love with Amy, but that did not mean he was necessarily ready to face her yet. In truth, her words still hurt him.

Natalie, realizing that her brother was still standing, looked over to where his eyes rested. _Ah, _she sighed internally, _of course, Amy just _has_ to be in the lobby this morning. This mission is going to be harder than I thought- especially for my poor, love-struck brother. Now, not only do we have to find a Madrigal, but_ I_ have to keep Ian away from Amy and focused on the mission! Why, oh why did my brother have to- wait, is that…? It is! But why are Amy, Dan, and their ridiculous nanny standing with him?!_

"Ian!" Natalie shot up from her chair once her train of thought ended, tugging on her brother's shirt sleeve- to no avail. "Oh, for God's sake, Ian, look at me! I saw a Madrigal!" Ian finally looked down at his sister at the word "Madrigal".

"You saw a Madrigal? Where?" he asked, frantically scanning the masses of people for a suspicious character.

"He's standing with Amy, Dan, and their nanny- I think her name's Nora. Look, the tall man with brown hair!" Natalie spoke. Ian looked over at the man (making a point not to look at Amy as he did so, because if he did, he doubted he'd be able to look away) and he, too, recognized the man as a Madrigal. At the Kabra Estate, he and Natalie had flipped through photo after photo of known Madrigals, in case they needed to identify them. Ian was now glad that he and his sister had taken that precaution.

"I see him; what is his name again? Frank something?" Ian asked, searching his memory for the Madrigal's name.

"Frank Callahan- or at least, that's what he calls himself," Natalie answered almost automatically. "He's a CIA agent; he has skills. Dangerous skills at that."

Ian nodded, proud of his sister's excellent memory- not to mention, thankful for it. "But then, why is Amy standing with him?"

"I have no idea; but that's not important right now. The main thing is that Callahan is moving, and Amy, Dan, and Nora-the-nanny are following him!" Natalie exclaimed, and, sure enough, they were doing just that.

"What?! Why?!" Ian exclaimed, and then amended, "Never mind, I know that you don't know, we have to follow them! Come on!"

"Ian, don't be so hasty!" Natalie pulled her brother back as he started to run after Amy, Dan, Nellie (though Natalie still did not remember that was Amy and Dan's au pair's name), and the Madrigal. "We're Lucians, Ian; we have to go about this stealthily. We follow them quietly, nonchalantly, so that nobody notices anything suspicious. Okay? Now, follow my lead." Natalie walked slowly, looking at various things around her, while always keeping one eye on her competitors. Ian followed her example; this was another one of those times that his sister's skills amazed him.

After walking for a bit, they were outside the hallway off the lobby that Amy, Dan, Frank, and Nellie were in. Ian peeked inside: they were standing in front of a painting of Abigail Adams. Natalie stood just outside of the hallway, so that nobody would come near her and Ian as Ian spied. As Ian watched, the Madrigal traced an "M" in the frame, and the portrait swung open. Like any knowledgeable Lucian, Ian immediately knew what was happening.

"Natalie, he's taking them inside the Madrigal stronghold!" he whispered urgently. "We have to go in after them!"

"Wait a few minutes, Ian; stop rushing! A good spy needs patience!" Natalie ordered. "We have to wait until they're most likely not just below the entrance, so that they won't find us. I'd say about five minutes should do the trick."

So Ian endured the longest, most painful five minutes of his life, until, finally, Natalie said, "Okay, let's go."

They walked towards the portrait, and, as Ian had seen Frank do, traced an "M" at the very top of the frame. As it had for Frank, the painting swung open, revealing itself to be a door. They smirked at each other, pleased- although somewhat surprised- by how easy this was turning out to be. Natalie and Ian walked inside, and found them selves in an elevator as they shut the painting quietly.

The Kabra siblings looked at each other, enclosed in the rather small elevator, each thinking, _Which button do we press? Do we want to go down, or up?_

Ian made his decision first. "Let's go up," he suggested.

"Any particular reason?" Natalie inquired.

"Yes; if we're wrong, it's easier to climb down than it is to climb up."

"Good point," Natalie conceded. She quickly pressed the "Up" button. There was a moment of utter silence, when nothing at all happened, and the elevator made no sign of doing anything at all. Just as Natalie was about to press the button again, muttering something about "Stupid faulty elevators" under her breath, a robotic female voice rang out:

"Lucian identified. INTRUDER ALERT." The "Up" and "Down" buttons turned blood red before Ian and Natalie's eyes, the color of their branch. Suddenly, the elevator dropped down, going so fast that Natalie's long, black hair flew around above her in the air as she tried not to scream.

As abruptly as the dropping had started, it stopped. But, Ian and Natalie only had a moment to look at each other in relief before the bottom of the elevator opened up, and they fell into a large, silver cell.

* * *

**_Yay! I was FINALLY update on a Saturday again, so I can get back on schedule! _**

**_I hope you liked this latest chapter. I'm sorry it's a bit shorter than my last two have been, but I think it's still pretty good. I understand if you think Ian was a little OOC when staring at Amy; I think he was, too. I also understand if you think this chapter was a bit void on humor; I know that, too, and I apologize._**

**_Please review! And, those of you with 39 Clues stories of your own, please update really really soon!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Since voicing their discovery of being in Madrigal headquarters, Amy and Dan had not spoken a single other thing. Instead, they, as well as Nellie, were being led by a triumphant Frank. Neither Amy, Dan, nor Nellie knew where they were being led, or why; all they knew was that they needed to get out of there as fast as possible. How? This was another question they did not know the answer to.

After walking through the grim hallway for what seemed like hours, Frank held up his hand as a signal to stop, which Dan, Nellie, and Amy did so automatically. They were standing in front of a door, a door no different than any of the others, except for the fact that it had a pearl "M" on the silver doorknob. Amy and Dan looked at each other, confused, both asking the other what was going on. Nellie stared straight forward, in a perfect poker face, not betraying her fear to her traitorous former friend.

"In," Frank ordered, opening the door. Amy, Nellie and Dan walked in, and Amy gave out a tiny squeak when Frank came in and closed the door behind him, leaving the room pitch black for a moment. Then, the same white lights that were in the hallway revealed themselves on the ceiling of this odd room. In turn, the lights revealed pitch black walls- again- only these walls were covered top-to-bottom with white file cabinets, giving the appearance of a gloomy secretary's office. However, the cabinets in this room gave off an aura of importance, as if the information in them could easily change lives; whereas, the file cabinets found in a secretary's office only give off an aura of boredom, and inconsequentiality.

"What do you want with us, Frank?" Nellie found her voice first, glaring so fiercely at the man that he visibly winced. "What did we ever do to you? They're just kids, Frank. Cahill kids, yeah, but just kids. Leave them be."

Putting on a brilliant poker face, Frank replied in a monotone, "My order was to capture Amy and Dan Cahill, and anyone who tries to get in my way. I followed my order."

"Um, Frank, dude?" Dan spoke, in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. "I'm pretty used to people wanting to do bad things to me and Amy by now, but why'd you bring us in here? It's just a bunch of file cabinets."

Frank's eyes glinted, and he smiled evilly. "They are a bunch of file cabinets, yes; but, this is also our most secure jail cell. The file cabinets cover every square inch of the wall, leaving room for air ventilation, or anything of the sort. Therefore, there is no possible opening for you to escape from."

"What about the door?" Dan responded, as if it was obvious. "That's a pretty clear opening to me."

With the same evil smile, Frank said, "Any being that touches the door without wearing one of these," he pointed to a silver band on his wrist, "will instantly be electrocuted if they touch that door. Shall I show you?" Without waiting for an answer, he took a small notepad out of his pocket and then, without hesitation, threw it at the door. The effect was instant; the notepad was a pile of ashes, smoke rising in small plumes from it, a quiet sizzling sound coming from it. Amy unknowingly shuddered- and then, she realized something about what Frank had said before.

"Wait," she said softly. "If there aren't any air vents in here, then how do we get any air in here?"

"My poor, naïve little girl," Frank shook his head and rested his hand on Amy's shoulder as if to be sympathetic, "when did I ever say you did?"

There was a moment of harsh silence. Then Nellie proclaimed, "You fiend. You _jerk_! So that was your mission all along, was it? To kill them?" Frank said nothing- no attempt to deny any word Nellie was saying. "You disgust me, Callahan," Nellie sneered, seeing that Frank had no response. "How much air is in here, anyways? Half an hour? An hour? Are you going to make us suffocate slowly and painfully, as well? Maybe release some toxic gases into the room to speed up the process? _Talk, you mute douchbag!"_ By this point, Nellie was screaming in fury; Amy and Dan, needless to say, were scared out of their wits. Even Frank was backing away slowly, towards the door.

"You have an hour," Frank said, pretending that his former comrade hadn't just shouted out her guts to him. "By the way, I suggest that you look in the file cabinets- you might find some information in there of your interest."

Amy's heart almost stopped as she turned to face her captor, thinking of his words. '_You might find some information in there of your interest,' he said, _Amy thought. _Does he mean me and Dan's parents? _"D-do you mean m-me and Dan's parents?" she asked, in a frightened voice scarcely more than a whisper.

"You're a smart one, aren't you?" Frank smirked. "It's too bad you have to die- you would have made a magnificent spy."

"Never," Amy spat, just as Dan asked, "If you have what happened to our parents in those cabinets… do you have our Branch, too?"

Frank nodded. "The Madrigals know all there is to know about every Cahill who has ever been remotely involved in the hunt for the 39 Clues. If you have any questions, this is the one place where you can be guaranteed an answer." He walked towards the door and opened it.

Before he left Amy, Dan and Nellie for dead, he turned back around and suggested, with a sly glint in his eyes, "You might want to take a look- see what you find. That way, when you die, you at least won't die wondering. I will not ask you to trust me, but, believe me- everything in this room that you will read is absolute fact. We Madrigals pride ourselves on the truth." With that, he walked out and shut the door without making the slightest sound.

Amy turned around, and looked at her companions- her furious au pair, her frightened little brother- and declared quietly, "W-w-well, Frank was r-right about one thing."

"What?" Nellie asked.

"W-we might as well see what we can f-find out. I know that I'd like to know the truth." Amy didn't mention the fact that in an hour, she and the two people she cared about most in the world would probably be dead; that fact scared her too much, and besides, she still hoped that there was a chance that they could be rescued, however slim that chance was. _Ian and Natalie were up there; maybe they'll come down here, or- or something, _she hoped fervently, not daring to speak this aloud for fear of jinxing it.

"She's right; if I'm going to die," Dan choked on the word, "I'd like to die knowing the truth." Amy walked over to her brother and put her arm around him comfortingly. Nellie nodded, more to herself than anyone else, and walked over to a random cabinet, opening it easily.

"Well," the au pair said, pulling out a file, "Let's start looking."

* * *

**_Woo hoo! I was able to update on time! Hallelujah, praise the Lord!_**

**_I hope you liked this chapter. It's a bit shorter than some of the others, which I apologize for. Anyways, please review! Suggestions, ideas, and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are appreciated! (If you're just going to tell me oyu hate my story or something, don't bother reviewing, because I honestly don't want to hear it. I mean, I;m alright with people not liking my story, I just don't really see why I have to be told my story is hated. Now, if there's a part of my story you don't like, please tell me, and I'll try to do better in the future if I can/ just be nice about telling me. Soory aobut my blabbering, thanks for reading!)_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"This is great, just g_reat!_" Natalie exclaimed sarcastically. "We're locked in a stupid cage- a cage! How barbaric! We're totally _failing_ our mission! We're disgraces! Oh, what will Mother and Father say- Ian, are you listening? Ian? IAN?!"

Ian finally looked up, tired of his sister's rambling. He was sitting against the cage bars, attempting to think of a way out, while Natalie was pacing the length of the cage, blabbering nervously. "Natalie," Ian said quietly, "_please_, stop your incessant rambling! Can't you see that I'm trying to think?"

Natalie huffed. "Well, then, Mr. Lovestruck, have it your way!" She proceeded to move to the opposite side of the cage from where her brother sat, sit down, and pout.

Ian sighed. _Sometimes, _he thought, _I really think she's a five-year-old in disguise._

He went back to his thoughts. He knew that he had to get out of the cage; that much was obvious, and it didn't help matters that this particular cage was in the headquarters of a group of people who seemed to want nothing more than to exterminate Lucians and the other Cahill branches alike. _Amy's down here, too, _Ian thought. _I have to save her- before it's too late. But first, I have to get out of this cage!_

Ian stood up and examined the bars of the cage. His training had taught him to be able to identify metal types upon contact; and yet, this was no metal that Ian could recognize. _It must be a mixture of metals- an alloy, _he thought. _I have to assume it's indestructible to poisons; otherwise, mine would've worked. _He reflected on when he and Natalie had first landed in the cage, and he had put every poison he had with him on the metal bars, with no results.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps interrupted his train of thought.

Natalie, it seemed, had heard it too, and stood up, looking towards the sound. She and Ian looked at each other briefly; they were both forgiven, or at least for the time being. They knew when teamwork was most important, and being confronted with dangerous strangers was most certainly one of those times.

The person making the footsteps finally revealed himself, and Natalie and Ian both recognized him as the man from the lobby; the man who had captured the Cahills.

"You," Ian spat, enraged that this man- this _filthy_ Madrigal- would dare to kidnap his Amy.

"Me," the Madrigal replied, sounding slightly amused. "But, I'd prefer if you called me Frank."

Ian's glare only intensified. "You disgust me," he proclaimed, eyes narrowed fiercely. He was about to continue- most likely into a stream of profanities- but his sister laid her hand on his arm gently, and he turned to face her, wondering what she wanted.

"Let me do the talking for once, Ian," she requested quietly. "You're angry; you may say things you'll regret later. Let me handle this." After a moment of thought, Ian nodded his consent, and Natalie gave a small, triumphant smile before turning to Frank. "What exactly do you want from us, Frank?"

Frank grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You're from any enemy Branch, and you tried to infiltrate the Madrigal headquarters. I don't want anything from you; I just can't let you go, or else you'll run to Mummy and Daddy and tell them everything you know. And we can't have that, can we?"

Natalie kept her cool. "No, I'm sure you would not want that. How about we make an agreement? You release Ian and I from this cage, and if we can find our way out of here, then we won't tell our parents anything."

Frank scoffed. "Nice try, Lucian, but I know your type. You will betray the agreement; I have no doubt of that. So I'm afraid, I'll have to turn down your offer."

Natalie nodded in understanding. "Smart of you, I have to admit. Oh, and by the way, last time I checked, my name was Natalie, not Lucian." Ian was amazed by his sister at the moment; she sounded much older than an eleven-year-old. Neither her voice nor her face betrayed any emotion whatsoever, and her words were sophisticated enough to be used by adults.

"Well, _Natalie, _I suppose that, since you've been kind enough to call me by my name, I will call you by yours," Frank said.

"Thank you," Natalie replied, satisfied. Everything was going as she had planned. "Now, I wonder- could you answer some questions for me, perhaps? They would be of no interest to my Branch, I assure you; I only ask them because I have the curiosity of the eleven-year-old that I am."

Frank thought for a moment, and then said, "Ask your questions. If I want to answer them, I will."

"Of course, Frank, that sounds perfect," Natalie purred. "Now, my first question: what is this cage made of? It is immune to all of my poisons."

"We Madrigals developed it; it's called ironixe. It's indestructible," Frank answered.

"Very interesting," Natalie said thoughtfully. She then asked, "Are you sure that this cage is indestructible? Is there really no weakness whatsoever? I find that a bit hard to believe."

"No metal it totally indestructible," Frank recited, "but ironixe only has one weakness, and a very rare weakness at that, one that nobody would guess and very few people carry around with them. So, it is as close to indestructible as a metal can get."

"That, too, is quite interesting," Natalie spoke under her breath, but just loud enough that Frank could hear her. "Now- and this may be my last question- why have you taken the Cahills, Amy and Dan, and their nanny?" Ian's head immediately jerked up, looking more alert than he had for the entire time they had been in the cage, eager for the answer.

"They are the children of traitors," Frank answered stonily, "and, at the beginning of the Hunt, nobody knew what they were made of, not even the Madrigals. However, we have been monitoring them, and we have decided that while they could pose a huge threat to anyone they are against, they could also be very valuable allies."

"That still doesn't explain why you captured them," Natalie pointed out.

"Oh, but doesn't it?" Frank shot back. "In capturing them, we are testing our hypothesis. We- as in, the Madrigals- think that those Cahills have the ability to do almost anything that they set their mind to, however corny it may sound. By keeping them locked up, we are testing this, by seeing whether or not they will find a way to escape. And if it turns out that we are wrong, then we'll just have one less threat on our hands."

At this, Ian couldn't hold his silence any longer. "You mean, if they don't prove that they could be valuable allies to you, you'll kill them?"

"Oh, young Mr. Kabra, they could also prove to be dangerous threats," Frank replied coolly. "If they did escape, and if, even after all they have learned, they decide not to join us, then they will be dangerous threats, and we will have no choice but to kill them. Rather unfortunate, really; they are quite talented."

"So, you're saying that you're most likely going to kill them?" Ian spoke, shaking a bit out of fury, in a tone that Natalie recognized as the calm before the storm.

"Exactly. Well done."

Natalie tried her best to keep Ian from rushing against the cage bars in rage, but could do nothing; her older brother was stronger than her. "YOU PIECE OF FILTH!" Ian roared, anger radiating from every part of his body. "YOU CAN'T KILL HER, YOU CAN'T! HOW DARE YOU EVEN SPEAK OF IT?! YOU-"

"IAN!" Natalie interrupted her brother. "Calm down! We can worry about this later; right now, we have more important things to focus on."

"More important things?! What could possibly be more important than saving her, Natalie?!" Ian exclaimed; he didn't even need to specify who he was talking about.

"How about getting out of this cage?" Natalie hissed so that Frank wouldn't hear. "That's the only way we'll be able to get to Amy- and Dan, and the nanny- in time."

Ian took a deep breath, and nodded. He knew when his sister was right; and this was one of those times.

"Well, as amusing as this conversation was," Frank spoke up, "I really must go now. I was only supposed to come and check on you, and I fear I have overstayed my welcome. Any more questions, Natalie Kabra?"

"Just one," Natalie said, still calm. "Where are they?"

Frank thought for a moment before responding, and said, "Answers."

"What?" Natalie asked, confused.

"That's the answer to your question: Answers. Goodbye now," Frank swiftly turned and walked out of sight before Natalie could question him any further.

"Answers… what could 'answers' mean?" Natalie mused. After a few minutes of silent thinking, she snapped her fingers. "I got it!" She turned to Ian and said before he could say anything, "The Madrigals are known for knowing answers to things that nobody else knows. What if there's a room of these answers? They're probably keeping Amy and Dan there!"

Ian stared at his sister for a moment before declaring, "You are sorely underestimated, Sister. That's brilliant."

"I know," Natalie responded smugly.

"Do you have any idea how we get out of this cage, though? And where this room is?"

"Yes, and no," Natalie replied. "I don't know where the room is, but I think I may know how to get out of this cage."

"Pray tell, Sister."

"Well, if you insist," she said, pulling a little bottle out of her pocket. "This may just be our answer," she continued, holding it out to her brother so he could look at it.

"_Nail polish remover?!_" Ian asked in disbelief.

"Yes, nail polish remover. Frank said that few people carry it around, and nobody would think to use it against a metal. But, nail polish remover has a bit of alcohol in it, and certain types contain acid. It's worth a shot, at the very least."

Ian thought for a moment. His sister's logic was impeccable; of that, there could be no doubt. He decided that it was, indeed, worth a shot. "Alright; let's rub some on the bars, and see what happens."

Natalie did as her brother suggested, and splashed her whole bottle on the cage bars. There was a moment of silence where nothing happened; but just as Ian was about to despair, a slight sizzling sound came from the bars. Before Ian and Natalie's eyes, the cage bars were melting, until they made a hole just big enough for the siblings to go through one at a time.

"Never underestimate a Kabra, Ian; you should know that," Natalie chided smugly, crawling through the hole. Ian shook his head in disbelief and followed her.

"Come on," Ian spoke, once they were both safely out of the cage. "We have to find Amy." With that, he ran out the way he had seen Frank go, with Natalie following behind him.

* * *

**_Hey, everybody!_**

**_I personally don't think that this chapter is very good, but I'm really busy today, so it's the best I can do as of right now. If you really want me to, I'll replace it later. Your choice; if you don't think I need to, then I won't._**

**_Hope you liked this chapter! Sorry that Ian spoke so little, I just wanted to give Natalie a chance to show her skills. Please review!_**

**_-Joelle8_**

**_P.S. I've recently realized that, since the first chapter, I've been forgettign my disclaimer. So, here's a disclaimer for this chapter and all the chapter in the past and the future that are/will be without disclaimers: _**

**_Much to my sorrow, I do not own the 39 Clues. If I did, the world wouldn't know what hit it._**

**_OK, glad I've cleared that up!_**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Nellie, Amy and Dan had been flipping through files for about ten minutes before they found something of interest. "Hey, Amy!" Dan called. "Take a look at this!" Amy walked over to her brother, and gently took the file out of his hands. It read, 'History of the Madrigals'.

"We might as well find out what we can about these people," Nellie reasoned, coming over.

Amy nodded her agreement, and all three of them began reading the papers:

_The History of the Madrigals_

_Despite popular belief, there were not four children of Olivia and Gideon Cahill; there were five. The fifth child, the youngest, was named Madeleine, and possessed the same traits as her siblings Jane, Luke, Katherine and Thomas: artistic ability, stealth and a talent for decoding, genius, and physical strength. _

_Madeleine watched her family slowly be driven mad by their quest to create the Philosopher's Stone. Wanting peace, she decided the only way to achieve this would be to burn her father Gideon's work. So she lit her house on fire, knowing her family had enough money to purchase a new house. But her plans went terribly wrong: her father died, and Madeleine fled. It was all too easy for her older siblings to vow never to speak of her again, causing her to be forgotten._

_Today, the descendants of Madeleine- the Madrigals- hunt the 39 Clues and do their best to prevent Clue Hunters from gaining possession of all of them. They only want peace, though the Lucians, Ekaterinas, Janus and Tomas are still under the illusion that the Madrigals want nothing more than to kill them all. _

"W-well, that certainly explains a lot," Amy stated when she was done reading.

"You bet it does," Nellie nodded in agreement.

"Why aren't you guys thanking me? I'm the one who found it!" Dan exclaimed, sounding slightly insulted. Amy and Nellie only rolled their eyes.

"Hey, um, listen, guys," Nellie said rather awkwardly, rubbing her arm, "I think I should explain some stuff to you."

Amy and Dan turned to face her, silently all ears.

"Well," Nellie started, slightly intimidated by the attentiveness of her audience, "you see, I'm… a CIA agent."

"We got that much from your argument with Frank in the elevator. Why didn't you tell us?" Dan questioned.

"I can't really go around saying, 'Hey, kiddos, guess what? I work for the CIA, and have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world,' can I? My boss would probably kill me in my sleep!"

"You have a point," Amy admitted. "So… what else can you tell us?"

Nellie thought for a moment. "I've been a spy since I was eighteen and I graduated from high school. I met Frank a few months after joining. He quickly became a good friend of mine, the traitor. Since I was so young- the youngest CIA agent in 20 years, in fact-, most of the other agents weren't exactly that nice to me. There's really not much more to say."

"Do you have mad ninja skills?" Dan asked excitedly.

"Yes, I do, in fact. Maybe I'll show you sometime," Nellie's eyes glinted with amusement.

"AWESOME!" Dan shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

Amy laughed at her brother's actions. It was unbelievable that, at a time like this, he could still think of ninjas. Oh, how she wished she was an eleven-year-old boy sometimes. "How about we keep looking for some information?" Amy suggested.

"Good idea," commented Nellie. "We still have a lot more stuff to look through; who knows what kind of information we'll find in here."

This time, it took much less long to find interesting information. Amy was the one who found it, and she gasped as she read it. "Dan… come over here," she whispered breathily.

"What is it, Sis?" he asked, concerned. Though his sister was quiet, she rarely whispered; only when she was forced to, or when she was shocked or scared. Since there was nothing currently preventing her from speaking at full volume, Dan had to assume it was one of the latter.

"Our- our parents…" Amy could only manage, holding out the file. Dan snatched it and quickly read it:

_July 15, 2001: Murder of Hope Cahill and Arthur Trent_

_Lucians, Ekats, Janus and Tomas teamed up to confront Hope and Arthur, who were believed to possess important Clues. Fire lit at 10:37 in the evening by minor-ranked Lucian spy/bodyguard, under order by Vikram Kabra. Amy and Dan, Hope and Arthur's children, aged 7 and 4 at the time, survived. Hope made it out as well, but ran back in to get her husband, who was looking for a sheet of the Clues they had found. The location of the sheet is currently unknown, though it is thought to be in the possession of Alistair Oh, Ekaterina. This event is thought to have been planned by Eisenhower Holt, Tomas. _

Dan and Amy stared at the sheet in shock. They had suspected foul play ever since they had learned of the Clue Hunt, but neither was prepared to learn that they had been right. Tears fell freely down Amy's face, and Dan's usually youthful face was hard and cold, and looked much older than it was.

_Vikram Kabra… Ian's father… what does that say about Ian? _Amy wondered. _Could he be lying about loving me? He didn't look like he was in Madrid, and why would be going to the trouble of sending me gifts if he didn't feel something for me? I guess I'll just have to wait to find out._

_My parents were murdered, _Dan thought. _Murdered. Because of this stupid Hunt. I swear, if it's the last thing I do, I'll get back at the other Cahills… all of them._

"Hey, kiddos!" Nellie called, breakingDan and Amy's trances. "I'm 220% sure you want to see this." Curious, Amy and Dan went over to Nellie, and she held out a file to them. In the top corner, it said, _Cahill Persons Branches_.

The file was opened quick as a whip. Amy and Dan flipped through, searching for one of their names, or their mother's name, or their father's name…

Finally, they found what they were looking for. The tab on the card read _Cahill, Amy and Daniel. _Shaking with nervous excitement, Amy gingerly lifted the card out of the file, and she, Dan and Nellie began reading:

_Amy Cahill:_

_Born August 28, 1994; 5:38 PM; Boston, Massachusetts, USA_

_Daniel Cahill:_

_Born September 14, 1997; 3:21 AM; Boston, Massachusetts, USA_

_Children of Hope Cahill and Arthur Trent._

_Branch:…_

Their breaths hitched in their throats as they read their Branch. Whatever they had expected, it hadn't been this. Finally, Amy found her voice, hoarse as it was.

"Dan," she managed to get out. "We're…"

"…Madrigals," he finished gravely for her.

* * *

**_Hey, everybody!_**

**_Sorry this chapter is a bit short; I'm really busy today._**

**_SPOILER:_**

**_I know that in the books, Isabel Kabra set the fire. But, since I had already written her as a nice person in this, I couldn't do that, could I? So, I did the closest thing._**

**_SPOILER OVER._**

**_I hope you liked this update! Please review!_**

**_Oh, and by the way, I have recently reched 100 reviews! I'd like to thank all of you who've reviewed for making that possible! I'm so happy you guys like my story so much!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"I can't believe it," Amy breathed in scarcely more than a whisper, sitting against a wall. "We're _Madrigals. _I could've dealt with being a Janus, or an Ekat, or even a Lucian or a Tomas, but a _Madrigal_? They're been trying to kill us this whole time! William even told us, 'Beware the Madrigals' for Grace! How could we be one of them?!"

"Actually, it makes perfect sense," Nellie mused, tapping her chin in an unusually thoughtful manner.

"Really? Care to tell us then?" Dan asked. He was feeling just as bewildered as his sister, but unlike Amy, he didn't show his bewilderment; instead, he turned it into anger.

"Think about it, you guys," Nellie said. "Just because you're Madrigals, doesn't mean you aren't in danger from them. Remember, they're trying to destroy all the 39 Clues- and you're trying to find them too, and keep them safe. That makes you a target of theirs. I assume Grace was too, for the same reason. After all, everyone knows she was, like, the best Clue hunter who ever lived."

"But we're part of their Branch! Why would they attack us?" Dan questioned, throwing his hands up in exasperation and confusion.

"Haven't you noticed that none of the Cahill Branches are really all that loyal to their fellow Branch members? I don't see why the Madrigals would be any different," Amy reasoned grumpily.

"She has a point, Dan," Nellie interjected.

"Whatever," Dan grumbled moodily. "Okay, so we're Madrigals. But the Madrigals still wanna kill us. We know what happened to our parents now, and we know our Branch. We know everything we wanted to know since starting this stupid Clue hunt. So let's focus on the more important thing now."

"What's that?" Nellie and Amy asked simultaneously.

"HOW TO GET THE HECK OUT OF THIS DANG ROOM!" Dan yelled, his anger taking full force.

"Unless someone finds an opening from the outside, there's no way out. Frank said so," Amy sighed, her head in her hands.

Dan sat next to his sister and thought for a moment. Nellie and Amy were doing the same, each trying to think of something to do to prevent their impending deaths. Suddenly, Dan realized something so obvious that he hated himself for not thinking of it sooner.

"Um, guys?" He asked, turning to face Amy and Nellie.

"What?" Nellie asked. Amy appeared to be listening, too; she just wasn't speaking.

"Whoever said Frank was telling the truth?" Dan pointed out. Nellie and Amy both stared at him for a moment before Nellie began banging her head against the wall.

"Why-" BANG "-didn't-" BANG "-I-" BANG "-think-" BANG "-of-" BANG "-that?!" Nellie shouted between bangs. Sighing, Amy pulled the au pair back.

"Nellie, banging your head on the wall isn't going to do anything but give you a giant bruise," Amy chided.

Nellie snorted. "No offense, kiddo, but you seriously just sounded like my mother."

"She does that a lot," Dan stage-whispered into Nellie's ear. Amy smacked his forehead, but seemed to be suppressing laughter.

"Well, let's look around. On the off-chance that Frank _was _lying, that means that there's some way to get out of here. It's best we find it," Amy said, "before time runs out."

Ian and Natalie were running as fast as their legs could carry them. They had been met with fifteen booby traps in the short amount of time they had been running, and had gotten caught in all of them. Luckily, each booby trap was only made to hold one person, so whoever hadn't been caught- usually Natalie, who was much less hasty- was able to free the person who had been caught (usually Ian, who was in too much of a hurry to watch where he was going).

"Look out, Ian!" Natalie shouted. Her brother stopped just in time before falling into the hole that had just opened up in the floor. Natalie stopped beside him and looked down in the hole. _Are those… snow leopards? Well, it's a nice change from the usual alligator or crocodile, _she thought.

"How do we get over?" Ian asked. "That pit covers the whole section of the floor!" He was right; there was no way to get over the pit besides jumping over it, and neither Ian nor Natalie possessed the abilities to jump over ten feet. Natalie looked around herself, brain whirling. She spotted a lone door to her left. Grabbing Ian, they darted into it.

"What are you doing?!" Ian exclaimed. His sister had released her hold of him, and they were now inside a pitch black room.

"Trying to find a way around that hole, Brother," Natalie responded. She was fiddling around in her pockets for something, and finally seemed to find it. Squinting, Ian could just barely make out a small vile in his sister's hands.

"What's in that vile, Natalie?" Ian asked, partially out of curiosity, partially out of suspicion.

Natalie didn't answer; instead, she pulled out a set of matches.

"Sister! Why do you carry around matches with you?" Ian asked, suddenly worried about what… activities his sister might engage in behind his back.

"You never know when you might need them," Natalie replied. Rolling up her sleeves, she struck a match, and the room was flooded with light. Calm as could be, she then dropped the match into the vile. Before Ian's eyes, the vile became filled with the fire, and then, Natalie capped it before the flames could escape. She was now holding a container of fire.

"Ah," Ian said, now understanding. "Poison 203?"

"Yes, and vile 706," Natalie replied.

"Clever, Sister; very clever," Ian complimented. Natalie smirked with pleasure.

"Let's take a look around," Natalie suggested. The room was quite big, and, like the hallway, pitch black. The room would've been for almost no purpose, had the walls not been covered with keys.

"Natalie! Maybe there's a key to whatever room Amy's in!" Ian suggested excitedly, looking like a five year old would if his birthday had come early.

"There probably is, Ian. Let's look," Natalie said, surveying the keys. "I'm not sure what room they're in. Frank only said 'Answers' when I asked him, remember?"

"Maybe they're in a room of answers?" Ian suggested.

"Very possible. Let's look for a set of keys with a label of that sort," Natalie said, reading each label carefully. Suddenly, she found something.

"Ian! Come over here!" Natalie shouted. She was fingering a set of large silver keys that was under a label reading, "Room of Answers".

"Those must be the keys!" Ian exclaimed, reading the label. "Let's grab the keys and go!" He pulled on the keys, but, to his and Natalie's surprise, his efforts were in vain: the keys didn't budge.

"They must be attached to that screw they're on," Natalie spoke. "I suspect that only Madrigals have the right tools for opening them." She looked over at her brother, who was still tugging on the keys. "Ian, that's obviously not doing anything, so stop wasting your energy and think!" Ian wasn't listening; he continued tugging on the keys, still in vain, but trying harder with each pull. It would be a rather comical sight- tall, fairly strong Ian Kabra not being able to pull a lightweight set of keys off of a screw- if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Ugh!" Ian groaned, finally letting go and admitting defeat (not an easy feat for a teenaged male). "This is impossible!"

"Haven't I been telling you that the whole time?" Natalie rolled her eyes at Ian. _He's being SO immature today; I'm only eleven here, and I'm having to act like the adult! _She exclaimed in her head.

Natalie's brother ignored her, instead peering closer at the label. "There's something written under the word 'Answers'. It says… I think it says, 'Hit and Turn'," he read, squinting to see the tiny type.

"What could that mean?" Natalie mused, stepping closer to the keys and her brother.

"Well, it says, 'Hit,' so perhaps that means we have to hit the keys? And it says 'Turn', so maybe that means we have to hit the keys and make them turn?" Ian reasoned. Looking apprehensive, he whacked the keys with his finger so that the made a full 360-degree turn. The keys didn't move besides that.

"Well, Mr. Genius, _that _was successful," Natalie shot sarcastically.

"Yes, it was, actually. Look!" Ian pointed to the screw under the label reading 'Room of Answers,' which was now… _moving_! The screw seemed to be drilling into the wall, making a hole just big enough for Ian to stick his arm through. Finally, the screw stopped, and fell out of the wall. The moment the screw was on the ground, the wall began to slowly crumble before the Kabras' eyes, until the hole had expanded to be big enough for Ian to walk through (if he ducked his head).

"This must be an entrance to the Room of Answers!" Natalie exclaimed, sounding in awe. "Nobody would ever think that the screw would be the way to enter a room, as opposed to the keys! Ingenious!"

"We seem to be behind some sort of metal barrier," Ian stepped through the hole, completely ignoring his sister, and peering at his surroundings. "I wonder what would happen if we knocked on it?" he mused, loud enough that Natalie could hear.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Natalie spoke. "Let's knock on it- the both of us- on three, alright?"

"Alright."

"Good. One… Two… Three!" Natalie and Ian knocked on the metal barrier together, the sound ringing around them.

Amy, Dan and Nellie were searching the room for some sort of exit when they heard it: a resounding knock. "What was that?" Amy asked nervously.

"It sounded like it came from behind some cabinets!" Nellie said.

"Maybe it's someone to rescues us!" Dan exclaimed hopefully.

"Or another filthy Madrigal come to kill us," Amy mumbled under her breath, but no one heard her. Despite her pessimistic thoughts, however, she, too, began looking for the source of the sound, knocking on every cabinet.

Amy had been knocking for three minutes when she heard what she had been listening for: a knock back. "Nellie, Dan! Over here!" she cried, waving her companions over.

"What is it?" Nellie asked, concerned.

"I knocked on this cabinet, and I heard someone knock back!" Amy exclaimed excitedly.

"Quick, let's pull on it!" Dan ordered, grabbing the small handle of the cabinet his sister had gestured to. "C'mon, you guys, grab on!" Amy and Nellie grabbed onto the cabinet handles next to Dan's cabinet, as there was wasn't room one his for four more hands.

"Let's pull together on three," Nellie suggested. "One… Two… Three!" she shouted, and the three of them pulled with all their might. To their shock, the cabinets fell down when they pulled as one, and Nellie, Dan, and Amy jumped back in alarm.

"Those cabinets were a door!" Dan exclaimed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Amy couldn't help but roll her eyes. "But now, the question is… who's behind that door?"

Two people cleared their throats, emerging from the darkened doorway.

"That would be us," Natalie Kabra stated, holding her head up proudly.

"You two! What are you doing here, Cobras?" Dan asked, loathing lacing his voice.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ian questioned mildly, stepping forward. Amy had to hold back a sigh; even when he wasn't in his usual pristine condition, he was still the most handsome human being Amy had ever laid eyes on. Not to mention Amy loved him.

Ian took another step forward, looking directly into Amy's eyes, looking gravely serious (with some definite longing, love, and even a bit of hurt thrown in there) even though he was speaking to Dan, and continued, "We're here to rescue you."

* * *

**_Hi, everybody!_**

**_Not really much to say, for once. I hope you liked this chapter! Sorry about the lack of comedy recently; it's not really my strong point, but I'll try to put in some more in the next couple of chapters._**

**_Please review!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"H-h-how did y-you get down h-here?" Amy stuttered, perplexed by the Kabras showing up all of the sudden to save her, Dan and Nellie.

"Our parents sent us on a mission to find the Madrigal's headquarters," Natalie told her proudly.

"How'd you find the headquarters?" Dan inquired, sounding slightly suspicious.

"We followed you," Ian replied. "We saw you talking to that Callahan man, and we recognized him as a known Madrigal from our parents' files. When he led the three of you somewhere, we assumed he planned on capturing you, and we were right."

"And you managed not to get captured?" Nellie asked. _How did the KABRAS outsmart me, Amy and Dan?! _She wondered in her head.

"Oh, we got captured," Natalie said. _Oh, good, they didn't outsmart us after all, _Nellie thought, relieved. She wouldn't have liked to have been outsmarted by some enemies several years younger than her. "Frank Callahan visited us, though, and we figured out how to melt our cage bars: nail polish remover," Natalie continued, pulling the empty container out of her pocket.

"You're telling me that _nail polish remover _melted _metal_?" Dan asked disbelievingly.

"Actually, it makes perfect sense, Dan," Amy said thoughtfully. "Very few people carry around nail polish remover, and you wouldn't think of using it to destroy metal. It's quite clever, really, to create a metal that only has nail polish remover as a weakness."

"You have a point," Dan admitted.

"Um, kiddos?" Nellie turned to her au pairees.

"Yeah?" Amy and Dan asked.

"Not that this stuff isn't real interesting and all, but we can have story time later. Right now, we really need to get out of here," Nellie reminded them.

"And that's what we're here for," Natalie piped up.

"Okay, so how do we get out of here, then?" Dan questioned.

"Through this hole you three created," Ian gestured to the massive space created by taking the cabinets out. "It leads to an unlocked room. Once we get in there, we can try to find our way back to the hotel lobby."

"Got it," Nellie nodded in understanding.

"Me, too," Dan said.

"I-I understand, t-too," Amy stammered, slightly disconcerted by the intensity of Ian's gaze on her.

"Ladies first," Ian waved Natalie, Nellie and Amy towards the hole. Nellie led the way, with Natalie behind her, and Amy last. Ian followed Amy, and Dan went last, muttering about "Stupid evil Cobras," under his breath.

It took all of Amy's coordination not to stumble over thin air as she walked. Ian was close behind her, and she could almost feel his breath on her neck. She stepped out of the hole and into the room, and suppressed a gasp as Ian's warm hand brushed against hers; instead, she blushed furiously, and out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed the slightest pink tinge on Ian's cheek, too.

"Be careful when you walk out here," Natalie instructed. "There's a pit that takes up a rather large section of the floor, and considering there are snow leopards at the bottom, I don't think you'd particularly enjoy falling in." Amy shuddered at the thought of being ripped apart by the dangerous cats, and Ian, seeing this, had to suppress his urge to comfort her. As it was, he couldn't resist trying to reassure her with words.

"Don't worry," he leaned down and whispered into Amy's ear. "I'll make sure you don't fall."

"Th-thank you," Amy stuttered, blushing furiously. She didn't dare turn around and look him in the eye, or else she feared she wouldn't be able to talk at all.

When the five of them walked out of the room, silent as possible, they saw that Natalie had indeed been telling the truth. The snow leopards growled at them menacingly, and Dan gulped, his voice a much higher pitch than usual, "I'm really glad I'm not a klutz right now!"

"Agreed," Nellie muttered, her face pale.

"Come on; we have to go quietly, so we don't alert any suspicions," Ian spoke in a whisper. Stealth was easy for Natalie and Ian, as expected; after all, they had been training as spies since they were just five years old. Nellie, it seemed, was also quite good as stealth; Amy and Dan assumed it was because of her CIA training. Amy and Dan, however, surprised all of them: despite their lack of training and experience, they were just as stealthy as their companions, if not stealthier.

_I guess we're just a natural at it, _Amy told Dan through her eyes, turning around briefly.

_It makes sense that we are; after all, we're Madrigals, _Dan reminded her gravely. Amy nodded, and turned around once more so as not to slow Ian or Dan down.

Natalie, Nellie, Amy, Ian and Dan had been creeping around the Madrigal headquarters for ten minutes, and though they'd met six booby traps, none of them had gotten caught in them.

"Ouch!" Natalie exclaimed all of the sudden, examining her hand.

"Natalie, what happened?" Ian asked his sister, concerned.

"I broke a nail when I hit my hand against this wall!" Natalie complained sorrowfully.

"Oh, for God's sake, who cares?!" Dan questioned, infuriated. _Trust a Kabra to care about a freaking nail at a time like this, _he grumbled in his head, rolling his eyes. "Take care of your stupid nail later! We need to get going!"

"My nail is not stupid!" Natalie contradicted, sounding insulted.

"Yes it is!" Dan disagreed.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Both of you, shut up!" Nellie glared at the both of them, effectively shutting them up. "You're bickering like an old married couple!"

Amy giggled as Dan and Natalie paled at the comparison, sputtering protests about how they didn't think of each other that way under any circumstances. Ian thought that Amy's laugh was one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. It reminded him of the soft tinkling of bells, and emitted an aura of warmth and happiness.

"Can we continue this argument later?" Ian requested, forcing himself out of his Amy-filled fantasies. "We really _do _need to get out of here."

"Sure, side with the Cahill brat and his nanny. Thanks, Ian," Natalie murmured heatedly, but turned back to the front and walked on anyways.

"AH!" They had been walking for only two minutes before Natalie screeched, stepping into a pond of a smelly black substance. "THESE SHOES ARE PRADA!" She roared furiously.

"Natalie, be quiet!" Ian pleaded urgently. "We don't want to be found!"

"B-besides," Amy muttered quietly, "you h-have a b-bigger problem th-than your shoes, N-Natalie."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Natalie glared at her menacingly, ignoring her brother's pointed look.

"Th-that's a tar p-p-pit," Amy said softly.

"What the heck is tar?" Dan wondered aloud.

"It's one of the causes of dinosaurs going extinct," Nellie explained. "They'd get stuck in tar pits, and drown to their deaths."

There was a moment of silence. Then, Natalie gulped, "So, if I don't get out of here, I'm going to drown?"

"Pretty much," Nellie nodded.

"WELL, THEN GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Natalie shouted. She lifted up her arms, and found that when she did so, the tar came with them. "Help!" She yelped, significantly quieter, her eyes wide and resembling that of an orphaned puppy.

"Calm down," Ian ordered coolly. "If we can find a rope, then we can pull you out."

"One problem: we don't have a rope," Dan stated.

"W-well, then we'll j-just have t-to find one, w-won't we?" Amy stammered.

"And where do you plan on finding a rope?" Dan asked.

Amy thought for a moment, and then exclaimed, "I know where to find a rope! There was one in that last booby trap!"

"Then someone, go back and get it!" Natalie commanded, frustrated.

"At least two people should go; that way, if something goes wrong, there'll be someone else, just in case," Nellie reasoned. "I think Amy should go; it's her idea, after all. Is that okay with you, Amy?"

"Y-yes," Amy nodded, though she was clearly nervous. Ian admired her courage, and then realized what he had to do.

"I'll go with her," he volunteered, standing up a little straighter.

"What! No way!" Dan protested. "I'm not letting you near my sister _alone_! I'll go!"

"Sorry, Dan, but I think Ian should go," Nellie said. "I'm not sure if you're quite strong enough to help Amy out of the booby trap if something goes wrong, no offense."

"Fine," Dan grumbled stonily. "But if you so much as _touch _my sister," he turned on Ian, "then you'll have me and Nellie to deal with. Got it?"

"Yes," Ian nodded, slightly afraid of Dan's threat; not that he'd admit to being scared of an eleven-year-old boy, of course.

"Great. Now that that's all sorted out, GO GET THE ROPE!" Natalie yelled angrily. She hated not being the #1 Priority.

"Okay. If you will," Ian gestured for Amy to go ahead of him. She did so, hiding her blush at his chivalry with her hair.

Ian and Amy found the booby trap after only three minutes. It was a common booby trap: a rope designed to tighten around the foot of whoever stepped in the circle created by the rope, pulling the victim in the air by the foot.

Amy knelt down by the rope, thinking hard. The rope was a long one; that much she could tell. How would she cut it, though? She didn't have scissors, and even if she did, the rope was much too big to be cut by them anyways.

Ian appeared to be thinking the same thing. "How do you suggest we cut this, Amy?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle. He relished in saying her name; it seemed to roll off his tongue just right.

"M-matches w-would work, a-and so w-would a knife. B-but I don't have e-either of th-those," Amy frowned in concentration, internally smacking herself for sounding so nervous.

_That stutter of hers is adorable. If it didn't mean that I made her nervous, I'd love hearing it, _Ian thought. Out loud, he said, "Natalie has matches; but I assume those won't be of use to us now, considering they're probably covered in tar."

"Th-then that's out. D-do y-you have a p-pocket knife, o-or something l-like that?" Amy asked.

"Now that you mention it, I might," Ian murmured, fishing around in his pockets. "A-ha! Here it is!" He exclaimed triumphantly, pulling a small pocket knife out of his pocket. "I've never been good at cutting rope, though," he admitted dejectedly, looking down in shame.

"H-here," Amy held out her hand. "L-let me c-cut the rope th-then."

"You know how to cut rope with a pocket knife?" Ian raised an eyebrow skeptically, but gave Amy the knife anyways. She didn't answer; instead, she quickly flipped over the knife and set to cutting the rope. To Ian's surprise, she did, indeed, know how to cut rope with a pocket knife; she sawed fluidly, the rope splitting apart with ease. After a minute, Amy held up a long strand of rope.

"Done," she said happily, not even stuttering, holding up the rope victoriously.

"Who taught you to use a pocket knife?" Ian asked bemusedly.

"Grace, "Amy answered, blushing. "Sh-she taught me and D-Dan when I was n-nine. Dan never c-caught on, r-really, but I d-did; it still annoys h-him to this day," she laughed.

"I didn't know that," Ian stated, thinking about Amy's beautiful laugh.

"There's a-a lot of th-things you don't kn-know about me," Amy said quietly, looking down.

"Then why don't you teach me?" Ian didn't know what had possessed him to do so, but he was now right in front of Amy, so close that he could hear her quickening breaths; his own breathing was quickening as well. He fought the urge to lean down to kiss her, and not just a mere brush, like last time. Taking a leap of courage, he reached out and tucked a strand of Amy's auburn hair behind her ear, relishing in feeling her soft, smooth skin.

Amy took a step back, looking down, blushing furiously, and Ian's hand fell. Her heart was pounding, and her breathing was quickened and heavy from how close she and Ian had been standing, from the warmth she had felt when he had touched her. _Get it together, Amy, _she scolded herself, taking a slow, deep breath with her eyes closed. "W-we should g-go back," she said softly in scarcely more than a whisper, not daring to look at Ian.

Ian nodded, "Alright," and masked the hurt on his face. "Natalie's probably going to kill us for taking this long, as it is," he joked, and was delighted when Amy gave a shaky chuckle. _If only she returned my affections, _he wished fervently, as he often did these days.

He and Amy walked back to Natalie, Dan and Nellie in silence, keeping their distance from each other. Both of their heads were still reeling by how close they had been before, and the spark each of them had felt.

"Amy! You're back!" Dan exclaimed joyously upon seeing his sister. Looking her in the eye, he asked silently, _Did Cobra touch you? _

_No, he didn't, _Amy answered untruthfully, though Dan didn't know that.

_Aw, man! I wanted an excuse to kill him! _He complained. Amy chuckled under her breath; her brother was certainly a character.

"Hate to break up your little moment, Cahills," Natalie said grumpily from the tar pit, "but I'd really like it if you could use that wonderful rope, Amy, and _get me out of here_."

"Sure," Amy muttered, walking so that she was in front of the tar pit. "I'll t-toss you the rope, and y-you catch it, okay?"

"Obviously," Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Wh-when you catch it, w-we'll pull you o-out. Ready?" Amy asked.

"Ready," Natalie sighed, sounding bored (even though she was really quite nervous), lifting her hands in the air in preparation to catch the rope.

"Good! I'm throwing it… now!" Amy said, and tossed one end of the rope to Natalie, keeping a tight grip on the other end. Thankfully, Natalie caught the rope. "Hold on tight, Natalie!" Amy ordered, taking charge of the situation and surprising even herself.

"I'll help you pull, Amy. I'll pull the end for you," Ian strode over, and Amy handed the end to him, blushing.

"I'll pull, too!" Nellie and Dan volunteered simultaneously. They grabbed parts of the rope in front of Ian, and Amy took the front.

"O-on three, pull!" Amy ordered. "One… T-two… Three!" Ian, Amy, Dan and Nellie pulled with all their might, and Natalie gripped her end of the rope so hard that her knuckles were turning white. Groaning, their hands burning with pain, Amy, Dan, Nellie and Ian gave a final heave, and Natalie practically flew out of the tar pit.

"My clothes!" Natalie squealed, eyeing her tar-covered body with revulsion and horror. "Oh, what will Mother say?"

"Mother will just take you shopping again, Natalie; don't worry," Ian assured his sister, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at his sister's vanity.

"True," Natalie sighed with relief. Then, surprising everyone, she turned to Amy and said, sincerely, "You saved my life. So… thanks, Amy."

"I-It was n-nothing, Natalie," Amy blushed. "B-Besides, we a-all helped."

"Well, then thank you to all of you- even you, Daniel," Natalie told them, to general surprise.

"…Are you being _human_?" Dan asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Daniel," Natalie rolled her eyes. "It only makes sense, considering I _am _human, after all."

Dan was silent, his face clearly saying, _Wait… she's not an evil, soulless demon?! What?!_

"If you acted less evil more often, Sister, this might not be so much of a surprise to poor Daniel," Ian chuckled, giving Natalie a pointed look.

"Whatever," Natalie shrugged. "I'm just wondering how long it will take Daniel's miniscule mind to comprehend it."

"Hey!" Dan came out of his trance. "My mind isn't minis- minis- whatever that word you used was! And it's Dan, not Daniel!" Amy, Nellie, Natalie and Ian laughed; Dan just glared at Amy and Nellie and muttered, "Traitors," stonily.

"I hate to break up this moment of yours," a voice came from the darkness behind them, and the laughing stopped instantly, "but I fear you'll have to come with me. We can't let prisoners escape, after all."

Frank Callahan stepped out of the darkness, leering at the five escapees. At that moment, all five of them gulped and thought the exact same thing: _Uh-oh._

* * *

**_Happy holidays to everyone! I hope they all went great, and that your New Year is fun, too!_**

**_YAY! This is a SUPER long chapter- my longest one yet in this story! I hope you liked it!_**

**_I loved writing that little scene with Ian/Amy, when Amy had finished cutting the rope. It was so fun to write their tension! :-D_**

**_I'm hoping to only have a few more chapters of this story. I'm trying to make it the longest fanfiction for the 39 Clues! _**

**_Please review!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Don't come any closer, Frank," Nellie ground out, glaring at the smirking adult Madrigal.

"Oh, but I'm afraid I must, my old friend. I have to capture you, after all," Frank replied.

"Do _not _call me your friend! I'm no friend of yours, you evil douchbag!" Nellie exclaimed.

"'Evil douchbag', eh, Nellie? My, you sure are original," Frank chuckled, approaching the group.

Nellie took a step in front of Dan, Natalie, Ian and Amy. "What'd I tell you before? Don't. Come. Any. Closer."

"And what makes you think that I'm going to listen to you?" Frank raised an eyebrow, stepping closer still. A very courageous feat, considering that if looks could kill, Frank would be a pile of dust by Nellie's doing.

"You know that I'm just as skilled as you in the art of combat, Frank," Nellie growled.

"Ah, but you must remember, Miss Gomez, that _I _am a Madrigal. Fighting is in my instincts," Frank drawled. Then, he shifted his gaze to Amy and Dan. "Surely you've realized that by now?"

"Why are you looking at us?" Dan glared.

"Don't pretend you don't know, boy," Frank said. "You and your sister have always been a natural at fighting. As were your parents. As was your dear grandmother."

"Amy and I don't do that kind of fighting!" Dan declared heatedly.

"But you know _how _to do that kind of fighting," Frank pointed out. "Grace taught you!"

"Wr-wr-wrong!" Amy stammered. "G-Grace taught us h-how to use t-t-tools. N-not how to f-fight."

"Ah, but you have defeated every obstacle you've come upon in the course of this Hunt. You had no training in these matters either. So, what makes you think that you wouldn't be a natural at fighting?"

"Wh-what does it m-matter?" Amy asked.

"It doesn't," Frank shrugged. "Merely… food for thought. And now, I must take you five away."

"And where do you plan to take us?" Natalie asked, stepping forward, one eyebrow raised.

"To the Prisoners' Ward, of course," Frank responded. "You'll be given nice, comfortable cages. _These _cages aren't made out of ironixe, though, Miss Kabra."

"Didn't I ask you to call me Natalie? I thought we had an agreement, Frank," Natalie said.

"We did indeed, Natalie," Frank said. "But, enough of this conversation, however pleasant it may be. You could either come quietly, or I could use force. Take your pick." Frank rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing massive, menacing biceps, as if to warn them how difficult it would be for them if they didn't go quietly.

"You actually think that we'll get locked up _willingly_?" Ian scoffed. "If you do, then you're clearly mad."

"I take it that we'll have to do this the hard way, then?" Frank sighed.

"Duh," Nellie confirmed.

"Well, if we must." Frank pounced at Nellie, who punched him away with a solid right hook in his jaw. She sunk her fist into his left eye just as she aimed a rock-hard kick in his stomach. Frank suppressed a moan in pain.

"You never could beat me, Frank," Nellie chuckled, punching him hard in the jaw again, effectively dislocating it.

Frank didn't speak; it would've been excruciatingly painful if he had. Instead, he glared at Nellie and kicked her forcefully in the rib cage, knocking the au pair backwards for a moment, unable to breathe. Regaining her breath, Nellie attempted to give the Madrigal another black eye, but he caught her fist and flipped her onto her back. He bent over her figure, leering, still holding her fist, pushing her down. Nellie growled- literally- and lifted both of her legs into the air simultaneously, digging her feet into Frank's guts and pushing him off of her and onto the ground. She leaped on him before he could move, one hand around his throat, holding him down, and the heel of one foot digging into his delicate area. Frank was unable to suppress a whimper in pain.

"Get… off… me…" Frank ground out, looking like it cost him a lot of effort. He thrust himself up onto his feet, so unexpectedly that Nellie lost her grip on him, and she fell to the ground. Her head hit the cold floor with a thud, and the au pair lay still, unmoving, eyes closed.

"NO!" Amy and Dan cried, staring at their au pair in anguish. Amy rushed over to Nellie's fragile body and kneeled next to it, pressing her hand first to her wrist, then to her neck. "She has a pulse, Dan," Amy breathed in relief. "She's alive."

Ian went over to Amy's side and examined the unmoving figure. "She's alive, alright," he confirmed. "But she's knocked out, and may have a couple of broken ribs, and maybe even a cracked skull."

"H-how can you t-tell?" Amy asked, looking at Ian in wonder and slight admiration.

"My parents taught Natalie and me how to judge injuries," he blushed under Amy's gaze. Turning his attention back to Nellie, he said, "Your au pair needs to go to the hospital as soon as possible. She may be alive right now, but if she doesn't, then she may not last much longer."

Amy's face paled in fear and apprehension. Dan's face, however, turned a furious red as he turned to face Frank. "You," he spat viciously. "You _filthy scum! _You're a _murderer_! You _killed _her!"

"Just one last obstacle for myself," Frank grinned.

With an angry roar, Dan rushed at the Madrigal, punching and kicking every part of his body he could reach with pure fury. Frank was so taken by surprise that Dan was able to kick his ankles, knocking him to the ground. Ian, Natalie and Amy watched in silence, stunned.

"See, Daniel?" Frank leered from on the ground. "I told you that Madrigals were a natural at fighting." Ian and Natalie gave a start as Amy and Dan paled considerably.

"Wait," Natalie said, "are you implying that Daniel and Amy are _Madrigals_?"

"Yes, I am, Natalie," Frank replied, smiling evilly. "Oh, don't look so surprised, Miss and Mr. Kabra; _they _certainly aren't." Frank gestured to Amy and Dan as he said this, not bothering to stand up.

"Amy…" Ian said in scarcely more than a whisper. "Is it true? Are you really a- a _Madrigal_?"

"Yes," Amy nodded. "I only just found out; in that room they locked us in, th-there was a file about Dan and me, and, well, it said our Branch…" Amy trailed off, refusing to look up from the ground. Ian was in total shock, seemingly unable to move, looking from Amy to Dan to Frank, over and over again.

"Surprised, aren't you, Kabras?" Frank raised his eyebrows.

"That doesn't _begin _to cover it," Natalie muttered.

"Amy and I may be Madrigals," Dan spoke, with one foot on Frank's chest, holding him down, "but we're still the same people. We'll never join you scumbags."

Frank sighed, looking disappointed. "Then I'm afraid, cousin, that I can't stay on the ground any longer." With that, Frank grabbed Dan's ankle before the eleven-year-old could react and flipped him to the ground. Much like what had happened with Nellie, Dan was instantly knocked out.

"_DAN!_" Amy screamed in agony, gazing, eyes wide in horror, at her younger brother's still form. "_NO! DAN, WAKE UP!" _She cried, dashing to his side.

Natalie hurried over, checking for a pulse. "He's alive," she assured Amy. "He doesn't even have a fractured skull; he just hit his head quite hard. He's alive." Amy's only response was a slight nod, tears streaming down her face. She took a deep breath; then another; and then another. Then, she stood up and turned to face Frank, her face contorted into an expression that made Frank physically wince and back up a few steps.

"You," she said in a broken whisper, pointing at Frank. "How. _Dare_. You." Her green eyes were flashing in rage, her fists clenched. She took another step forward, towards Frank, but refrained from striking. "You can hurt a lot of people, Callahan," she growled, eyes narrowed threateningly. "In fact, there are many people that I'd have no qualms about you hurting at certain times. But you _cannot _hurt Dan." Then, looking as if she had been practicing her whole life, Amy spun around in the air and kicked Frank to the ground. As he fell, his leg crumpled under him with an unnatural crack, and he stared at Amy in astonishment when he tried, and failed, to get up.

"You broke my leg!" Frank exclaimed in dismay.

"You deserved it," Amy growled. She turned around and ran back to her brother's side, crouching next to him. Ian and Natalie merely stared at her, taken aback from her actions: in her first physical fight ever, she had just broken the leg of a grown man who was experienced in combat with only a kick, thought nothing of it and felt no remorse whatsoever.

Ian took a deep breath. He had to think. The girl he was in love with was a Madrigal- a_ Madrigal_! Even without barely any training, she was extremely skilled, and even more dangerous. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if she even beat _him _in a fight! _Do I really know her at all? _Ian asked himself.

"Yes, you do." Natalie had crept over beside her brother, and he hadn't noticed this, or that he had said his last thought aloud. "You _do _know her. She's shy, stuttering Amy Cahill; the same girl you fell for, even if I don't understand it. If something as little as her Branch is going to make you lose your feelings for her, then you never loved her at all."

Ian thought about this, and after a bit, concluded that his little sister was one of the most underestimated, wise geniuses the world had ever known. "You're right," he said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, _I'm _not the girl you should be talking to," Natalie gestured to Amy. Ian smiled briefly and walked over to the green-eyed girl. _What would he do without me? _Natalie asked herself as she watched Ian walk over to Amy.

He sat down beside her, hiding his nervousness. Peering at her face, he noticed, with a start, that she was crying. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

Amy sniffed, wiping tears from her eyes hurriedly. "Why w-would I be o-okay? Nellie and D-Dan are h-hurt, and I-I'm part of the worst Branch of them a-all! I-I feel s-so evil!"

Ian gripped Amy's shoulder firmly and turned her to face him. "Listen to me, Amy," he said sternly, looking her straight in the eye. "You could _never _be evil. _Never. _Just because you're a Madrigal doesn't mean you're a bad person. It's a matter of what you do and how you act that decides what kind of person you are."

"B-but that's j-just it!" Amy cried. "I b-broke his l-leg! I-I was evil!" She looked over at Frank, who was laying on the ground, having given up trying to stand, looking bored.

"You said it yourself, Amy, he deserved it," Ian told her, still holding her shoulders. "You did it for Dan, and for Nellie. All that shows is that you're a loyal, caring person, who will do anything for the people you love. That sure doesn't seem like an evil quality to me."

Amy sniffed, and then gave a tiny, shy smile. "Thanks," she said softly, looking down.

"Anytime," Ian replied, grinning.

Amy wiped her damp eyes before looking at Ian again, still avoiding looking him in the eye. "So- so, you're n-not mad? Y-you don't hate me?"

"Why would I hate you?" Ian asked.

"B-because I'm a M-Madrigal, and y-you're not," Amy responded, wiping her eyes again. Very seriously, Ian tipped Amy's chin up so that she was forced to look him in the eye. He poured all of the love and affection he felt for her into his gaze, and when Amy's breath hitched in her throat, he knew that he had conveyed his message well.

"Amy," Ian said, summoning every ounce of his courage, "I could _never _hate you. No matter what you do, or what you say, I'll always love you."

Forced to look into his eyes, Amy saw the truth in this statement. She knew that he wasn't lying, that he wasn't trying to hurt her, or double-cross her again. He had the same look in his eyes that he had in Madrid, only this time, Amy could see what it meant sooner. "I-I love y-you, t-too," she mumbled under her breath, her green eyes looking down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," Ian spoke, staring at Amy hopefully. He _thought _that he had heard her say that she loved him; but he had to make sure.

Amy took a deep breath, and forced herself to stare into Ian's unwavering, caring gaze. "I-I love you, too," she said, louder and clearer. Ian could only stare at her for a moment into a huge grin that stretched all the way up to his eyes. Amy couldn't help smiling back, giving a little giggle. Then, Ian took a deep breath, and tucked a strand of Amy's auburn hair behind her ear nervously, much like he had before, letting his hand linger on her cheek. He slowly leaned forward, and Amy, surprising even herself, did the same. After what seemed like years later, their lips meant, and moved in sync in a gentle kiss. They broke apart after a moment, both blushing furiously, but smiling all the same.

"Well, it's about time!" Natalie exclaimed, beaming, standing behind them. Realizing that Natalie had seen- and heard- the whole thing, Ian and Amy blushed even redder. "And, though, I hate you break up your little lovebirds moment-" the two fourteen-year-olds blushed again "-but we should really get out of here, and get Daniel and Nellie to a doctor."

"Right," Ian said. "I'll carry Nellie. Can you two carry Dan?"

"Sure," Natalie and Amy said at the same time.

"Okay, then let's go," Ian spoke, standing up. He extended a hand to Amy, and she grasped it, and he pulled her up gently. The two separated- Ian went and picked up Nellie, and Amy went over to Natalie, and the girls picked up Dan, each of them supporting one of his sides.

"Look!" Natalie exclaimed, pointing behind Ian. "It's the elevator!" She was right; they were, indeed, right next to the elevator, thankfully. They all piled in, ignoring Frank completely, and went back to the lobby of the Abigail Adams Hotel.

Upon stepping into the crowd of people in the lobby, Amy led the way over to the Information Desk, and asked the man working there, "Can you get us to the nearest hospital?" The man, seeing Dan and Nellie, immediately called an ambulance for them, and they were rushed to the St Bartholomew's Hospital.

Two hours after arriving at the hospital, both Dan and Nellie were awake and being cared for. Dan, it turned out, had only had a concussion; as his memory seemed alright, he would be released the next day; the doctors wanted to keep him overnight, just in case. Frank had done much more damage to Nellie, however; like Ian had said, she had two broken ribs and a cracked skull. She'd have to stay in the hospital for a few days.

Amy, Natalie, and Ian were all currently crowded around Nellie's bed; Dan may have been basically alright, but he was dead tired, so he was napping in the bed the doctors had given him.

"Are you sure you're okay, Nellie?" Amy asked concernedly.

"I'm fine, kiddo," Nellie laughed. "Really, sometimes you act like _you're _the one in charge of _me_!"

"Yeah, I do," Amy admitted, blushing slightly. "I'm just so glad that you're alright, Nellie! I was so worried!"

"Well, I certainly wasn't unscathed," Nellie murmured grumpily, putting one hand to her bandaged head, the other to her bandaged stomach. "Did the doctors ask what happened?"

"Yes," Ian answered. "We said that you fell down a flight of stairs."

"And Dan?" Nellie asked.

"He was in such a hurry to get down to you that he tripped on a stair and fell on his head," Natalie replied.

"Believable," Nellie said frankly. "Who came up with it?"

"Ian and Natalie," Amy told her.

"Good job," Nellie said to Ian and Natalie, who nodded in acknowledgement. "You know, you two really aren't all that bad; though, if you hurt Amy again, Ian, I won't refrain from killing you in your sleep," she added warningly.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to let anyone hurt Amy, especially not me," Ian responded, putting his arm around Amy's shoulder protectively. She blushed with embarrassment and pleasure.

"Keep your word," Nellie yawned. "Hey, you know, I think that medicine the doctors gave me is kicking in; I'm pretty tired."

"Okay, then we'll go check on Dan," Amy smiled. "Have a good nap, Nellie!" she said, leaving the room. Ian and Natalie followed her.

Nellie craned her neck so she could look out the door, checking that the kids were really gone. Seeing they were, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number, putting the phone up to her ear. "You banged me up pretty bad," she said once the person she called picked up.

"My apologies," Frank Callahan said from the other end. "If it makes you feel any better, Amy broke my leg, and Dan gave me several bruises and flipped me in your defense."

Nellie chuckled. "They're cool kids. They definitely exceeded our expectations." A moment later, she added, "I feel really bad about trapping them in that room though, and lying to them. They were terrified!"

"It was the only way we could tell them everything they needed to know without alerting any suspicions toward you," Frank replied solemnly. "They deserved to know the truth. And you have to stay with them, to help protect them; if they knew that you were a Madrigal agent, not a CIA agent, then they'd never trust you."

"I guess you're right," Nellie sighed dejectedly. "So, what'd you think of them?"

"They're impressive; I have to give them that," Frank admitted. "They're a lot like Hope and Arthur. They're also definitely Grace's grandchildren."

"So, I take it you approve of your great-niece and great-nephew, eh, Fiske?"

"Yes, though my approval doesn't matter," Frank/Fiske chuckled. "Thank you for going along with the plan, by the way. I'm glad that I got to see them. I never got to see Hope, something I've always regretted."

"Why'd you leave, Fiske?" Nellie asked. "When you ran away to the Madrigals, you left behind your family, and art, and college. I just… don't understand why you did it."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. Then, Fiske sighed, "If I had stayed… I would've been overshadowed by Grace, and even Beatrice, for the rest of my life. The Madrigals trained me, and showed me that I could be something besides the shy, uncoordinated artist. They turned me into someone I'm proud to be."

"I guess that makes sense," Nellie said. Then, she yawned- for real. "I'm real tired. I need a nap."

"Goodbye, Nellie."

"Bye, Fiske." Nellie shut her cell phone and tucked it back into her pocket. Then, she closed her eyes and got some well-deserved sleep.

All the while, she was plagued with guilt with what she had done.

Epilogue

About one year later, Amy and Dan found the 39th Clue, but, surprising everyone, destroyed it, and all of the rest of the Clues, along with any evidence of them that they could. Alistair Oh became their guardian, however, so they were still able to live with wealth and prosperity.

Ian and Amy stayed together throughout the rest of the Hunt, as well as after the Hunt, despite Vikram Kabra's protests. His wife eventually convinced him to let her son and his girlfriend be (mind you, it took a very long time, easily a few years), and once this happened, nobody was surprised when Amy and Ian were married about a year later. With Ian's inherited wealth and Amy's successful career as a research scientist, money was never a problem.

Dan came to terms with his sister's relationship, realizing that she was truly happy. At Alistair's home, he was taught the ninja skills he had always longed for; these were helpful when he became an FBI agent. He actually became friendswith Natalie Kabra, the Lucian Branch Leader (Ian gave the titale to her, knowing that she was most fit for the job), at a point, against all odds. They, eventually, became something more, to Amy and Ian's delight.

And Nellie? Nellie bought a home in London, not far from Ian and Amy's home once they married, and also not far from Natalie's home, which Dan visited so often that it was basically the same as living near Dan as well. She eventually became an actual CIA agent, who worked with foreign affairs, and no one ever discovered that she wasn't one in the first place.

To conclude this story, we could say, "And they all lived happily ever after"; and we'd be telling the truth. But, that's much too cheesy. So, for the last words of this story, we'll just say,

**The End.**

* * *

**_Hi, everyone!_**

**_Yes, this super long, early update is the end to Please. I hope you liked it; this chapter/epilogue, and the whole story. I want to thank everyone who's ever reviewed my story. I'm so grateful to all of you; your comments really helped me and encouraged me._**

**_Just in case any of you are wondering, I have no plans to write a sequel._**

**_If you have any questions I could answer for you on anything that's unclear about my story or anything, feel free to send me a message, or just review._**

**_I know that Amy, and sort of Dan, are really OOC in this chapter. But, I just wanted Amy to prove that she could be though and fight, if need be! I hope you don't mind!_**

**_Please review! I'd love to hear what you think!_**

**_Again, thank you to EVERYONE who reads this story. It means so much to me that people actually read and like my story. Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

**_By the way, on a side note, I'm planning on starting a Sirius Black/OC fanfiction (in Harry Potter) sometime soon. I'd love it if you'd read that when I publish it! Just saying!_**

**_Thank you everybody, happy New Year, yadayada, I'm sure you're tired of my chatter by now. So, I'm just going to say goodbye now! Goodbye!_**

**_-Joelle8_**


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